Game-changer at Main & Hastings

The Vancouver Province ran an article today about another development project that includes low income and social housing with private condos. As I’ve said before, these are ideal. Again local extremists complain that the development project will chase away addicts. I’m sorry if I find that amusing but most people think getting the drug addicts out of the neighborhood is a good thing. If a new development project will bring working people into East Van and get rid of all the drug addicts, than that is a good thing.

I’m not talking about crushing the homeless. This project includes spaces for low income as well as social housing. So that would mean 97 more low income units than what currently exists in that location. And get this: they are low income units in a nice building not a disgusting slum that is a health hazard like the American hotel were Tony Terezakis was beating the life out of drug addicts who owed him money.

The builder refers to the project as a game changer and I agree. This is what we need. Usually it’s hard to convince business to move into bad areas. Now they are doing it all on their own, they’re included low income housing and we have extremists still complain. They must be the ones selling drugs out of Vandu. Drug dealers oppose the project because it will reduce their business.

Did you know there is some magnificent stained glass at the Carnegie centre? I noticed it one day wading through the drug dealers on East Hastings. It’s low, right about the street level. Turns out on the inside there’s a marble swirling staircase and a magnificent stained glass portrait of Milton, Shakespeare and Spenser. Everyone should be able to see the magnificent history the Carnegie Centre has to offer. Right now all the drug dealers are preventing the general public from seeing it. That isn’t right. The Institute for Stained Glass Canada has documented it on their web site.

Surrey’s Casino Megatropolis

Residents expressed concerns at a Town Hall meeting about a proposed casino Megatropolis in South Surrey. No doubt those concerns will once again fall on deaf ears. Personally I am totally opposed to the project. BC has a gang war driven by the drug trade that is known to launder drug money through casinos. Building a drug money laundering megatropolis in Surrey is in my opinion absolutely insane.

I am opposed to the social problems gambling creates. I know of people who have lost their homes and their marriages from gambling problems. I am astounded how people can have a gambling problem with just slot machines. I can understand roulette wheels where people can lose an insane amount of money in a short period of time but slot machines? I just don’t get it. People who sit in front of slot machines all day and spend their entire pay cheques. Why on earth would people do that? Yet they do. It’s an addiction. It’s a problem. It’s something we shouldn’t support.

As a parent sitting on committees fund raising for dry grad, I know how hard it is for concerned parents to stand up and say I’m not comfortable with supporting a casino night for dry grad. They make so much money. People respond with yeah how many car washes are you willing to do to make up that kind of money? It is a real temptation. That doesn’t make it right.

Aside from my concern about not wanting to support gambling addictions which are very real and do exist, I am deeply concerned about supporting the gangs laundering drug money. Don’t tell me it doesn’t happen because it does. Don’t tell me you’ll take steps to prevent that from happening because you already haven’t.

Yet another flaming concern that was brought to my attention today was Gateway Casino’s $1.5 billion debt restructuring. How does a company that owns 9 successful casinos in BC and Alberta get $1.5 billion in debt? That is a flaming red flag. How did that happen? Who stole that money and where did it go? Just like with these bank collapses, banks don’t collapse all by themselves. Someone has to commit investment fraud and steal from them for them to collapse, usually someone who owns the bank.

So again I ask, how did Gateway Casinos get $1.5 billion in debt? Before we let them build a Casino Megatropolis that will become a haven for organized crime we need to answer that question. Don’t tell me it was a sluggish economy. I don’t believe that. Even when jobs are short people still gamble and people still spend money on drugs. Even more so when jobs are tight. So where did this $1.5 billion debt come from?

Recently we heard news about how the HSBC was caught laundering money for the Mexican drug cartels. So what happened? Absolutely nothing. It’s business as usual. Why? Because people want to invest in companies that launder drug money. They think those are good investments. They don’t realize that people who sell drugs are dishonest. When they launder drug money they are consumed with greed and always accompany that with investment fraud which steals from and crashes banks. We saw that at BCCI. We saw that at Banco Ambrosiano. We saw that at Nugan Hand bank in Australia. It keeps happening over and over again and we just aren’t getting it.

Catherine Austin Fitts refers to it as the tapeworm economy. It sucks the life out of the economy just like a tapeworm sucks the life out of it’s host. Gateway Casino’s $1.5 billion debt restructuring with Catalyst Capital Group needs to be examined before we create an organized crime megatropolis in Surrey.

The Calabrians and the Ndrangheta

A lot of media outlets are talking about the Ndrangheta. They are the Calabrians from the toe of Italy’s boot. They’re not just in Toronto, they are expanding into the UK and Ireland. One outlet refers to them as Italy’s most powerful crime group. Another describes them as more powerful than the Mafia.

Anti-mafia activist Rosy Canale used to own a restaurant and disco in the region’s biggest city, Reggio Calabria, and the Ndrangheta wanted to push drugs there. "I was to turn a blind eye," she said, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location in the US. "If I had done so, I’d doubtless still be in Reggio Calabria, driving round in a brand-new Ferrari."

Instead, she refused. And the Ndrangheta took its revenge. Canale was kicked and pistol-whipped almost to death. "Nearly all my teeth were broken. So was my upper jawbone. They broke my collarbone, several ribs and a leg. It was eight months before I left hospital. The doctors had to reconstruct my mouth and for a long time I had to be fed through a tube. At one point, my weight dropped to 39kg," she recalled.

After being discharged, Canale left for Rome and the start of three years of rehabilitation. "I needed to learn to speak again because my tongue had also been damaged," she said. "Even today, I can’t run, though I can walk. And my right hand was so badly injured that I can’t play the piano any longer. This is the price I paid for being an honest person."

"In February, some men came to my parent’s; home in Rome posing as postmen. They said they had a letter. My mother opened the door and they pushed past her. They told her that, if I published my book, they would cut me into pieces and feed me to the pigs. A book creates awareness," added Canale. "And it remains."

The Calabrians couldn’t afford a horse’s head so they beat up a girl and used a rabbit’s head instead. I’m still having a hard time accepting that these guys are more powerful than the Sicilians. The Calabrians keep killing each other. They have no concept of loyalty at all.

The Return of GSP

George St-Pierre won a unanimous decision in his come back fight last night with Carlos Condit after his knee surgery. GSP’s win will likely mean a super fight with Brazilian Anderson Silva. GSP said “I need to take some vacation and think about it." He might give Nick Diaz a shot first.

Daiz seems to be a bit of a mouthy bitch like Tito. CSP has way more class. Yet Condit was clearly groomed for his come back. A stand up fighter without ground skills who wasn’t as strong at stand up as GSP. GSP has ground skills but he’d have a serious challenge with Anderson Silva. Ya gotta respect the Brazilians ground fighting. They wrote the book on ground fighting.GSP is still the hometown favorite.

The War in Gaza

OK I’m going to have to weigh in here. The tensions in Gaza are spilling over to protests in Canada and it behooves us to see the insanity for what it is. I am the first one to admit that Israel is not always right. I am the first one to admit that I am not comfortable giving Israel or anyone else for that matter, a blank cheque of endorsement. Yet this time, I agree with Stephen Harper’s position on Israel. Which doesn’t mean I don’t still have serious concerns about Harper handing over our oil rights to Communist China and signing trade agreements that gives up our sovereignty because I do. What it does means is that although no two people agree on every political issue, no two people disagree on every issue either.

Let’s take a step back to the previous violence in Gaza and look at the wrong that was done by both sides. Gaza says we want to be free. We want to be independent from Israel. Israel says, OK. They pull out and let Gaza have more control of their sovereignty. So what does Gaza do as soon as Israel pulls out? They start firing rockets into Israel at random. That was crazy.

I thought it was absurd how some Canadian trade unions were speaking out against Israel and denouncing a wall they built to protect themselves from rocket attacks demanding the wall be taken down. Those Canadians are crazy. They have no right to make such an absurd claim. If someone was firing rockets at me, I’d build a wall to protect myself too. That was the least aggressive and most peaceful solution conceivable.

So Israel pulls out of Gaza and Gaza responds by firing rockets into Israel. Israel then launches military strikes at points in Gaza where the rockets are being fired from. Fair enough. Israel even called in advance giving Gaza warning about a military strike in a rocket launching area. So the nutbars in Gaza then send in crazed woman screaming like they belong in an institution rushing to where Israel said they were going to strike wanting to be a martyr for the cause so Gaza could tell the world Israel was killing civilians. Not only was that crazy, it was dishonest.

I do think Israel using white phosphorous on civilians in Gaza that it bought from the US was extreme and over board. Yet they did have a right to protect themselves and strike at militant areas that were firing rockets into Israel. That’s a given. Nutbars rushing into the areas to increase civilian casualties to gain public sympathy was pure insanity and complete dishonesty.

The very fact that Gaza keeps firing rockets into Israel shows why Israel needs to maintain a naval blockade against Gaza. Not against food or medical supplies but against arms that they will clearly use against Israel.

Let us remember that Gaza is different from the rest of Palestine. The residents of Gaza are not the original inhabitants of Gaza. The Philistines were. The Philistines were conquered by Egypt under king Rames and carried away as slaves. No doubt there are many people and many families in Gaza that are normal people who just want a normal life. Yet there are many insane wackos that want to destroy Israel at any cost and play the victim to gain public sympathy as they do so. They don’t have my support.

Perhaps Gaza should be given back to Egypt. Gaza is clearly not mature enough to run themselves.

December is Gary Webb Appreciation month

December 10th is the, correct that, eighth anniversary of the death of Garry Webb. Movember may well be grow a stache for prostate cancer research but this December I want to remember Gary Webb and outline the most profound contribution he made to investigative journalism and the absurd opposition he faced. His memory will continue and so will the story they tried to bury.

When Catherine Austin Fitts read about the Gary Webb story she said something about it rang true. She had worked in the Bush Administration, she had seen how the disinformation campaign works to discredit a source. She referred to them as attack poodles that would flood the internet and media with disinformation to hide or bury a story that may be damaging to them.

Gary Webb doesn’t strike me as a conspiracy theorist. He was an award winning investigative journalist. He was clear and concise and backed everything he said up with facts. Not only do I want to emphasize what Gary Webb revealed, but I also want to emphasize the consistent disinformation campaign that sought not only to bury that story but any like unto it.

Another story they tried to bury was Judge Bonner’s claim that when he was a DEA agent, the CIA smuggled a plane loaded with a ton of cocaine into the United States which ended up on the street. Over and over again the agency passionately denied it. Judge Bonner stood firm. He even went on 60 minutes and documented everything. When confronted with the facts, the CIA finally admitted he was right but then spun it by claiming it was the only time and it was a mistake. They were trying to catch a drug trafficking ring. Only just like in Operation Fast and Furious, they made absolutely no attempt whatsoever to track the drugs and make any arrests. We also know it wasn’t the first or the last time they were caught trafficking drugs in Military aircraft.

Since I am passionate about getting crack and crystal meth off the streets and the resulting gang war that affects all of us, examining the past and present history of the CIAs drug trafficking network is a fundamental part of that. So if you don’t like conspiracies, then take the month off and don’t read my blog during the month of December. It’ll make you go blind. I’m really tired of people repeatedly saying you’re stupid. You’re crazy. You can’t say that. That’s just a wacko conspiracy theory. It is not. It is well documented and is something any real patriot must examine.

I can say whatever I want. If I want to talk about aliens and UFOs, I can. Obviously, that’s not my thing and I don’t have the time of day for that. Yet drugs and the gang war is and I will talk about that. What I will not do is listen to the same people tell me over and over again how stupid I am and how I can’t talk about those things. There are a lot of things I don’t know. I don’t claim to be an expert on anything. Yet I wasn’t born yesterday and I am not stupid. It’s not that my frail self image will crumble with a few insults. It’s just that I’m not going to listen to that abuse any more. So if you post a comment saying how stupid I am and how I’m not allowed to talk about a certain topic, don’t be surprised when that comment isn’t approved. I have a full time job and do the web site and blog on the side. I’m not going to waste my days away sitting on my ass arguing with trolls. I need time away to get out and enjoy the outdoors. That’s what I am.

So, a toast to Gary Webb and the story they tried to bury but just wouldn’t die. Simply because history repeats itself and they keep getting caught doing the same thing over and over again. If we want to deal with the gang war and the cocaine on our streets, we need to deal with the CIAs drug trafficking network. Fighting Hitler and fighting Stalin as important as that is, is in vain if we do not fight that same enemy from within. The question we need to face is if the CIA has lied about years of drug trafficking, what else have they lied about? If they are capable of poisoning their own people to raise money, what else are they capable of? A true patriot will examine that. A traitor will not.

The Legalization of Pot

The second thought I wanted to mention was all this frenzy about the legalization of pot now that Washington and Colorado said yes. California I might add, said no. To me it’s kinda like Gay pride. What two consenting adults do behind closed doors is their business. Yet parading around half naked in public with whips and chains handing out free condoms isn’t really a family friendly event.

If someone wants to smoke a blunt in private that’s their business. Yet parading around in public flaunting it and forcing others to smell it and inhale all that second hand smoke gets carried away. I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t support mandatory minimum sentences for smoking pot. Nor do I think sending people to jail for smoking pot is productive. Yet we know what human nature is like. We know how people get carried away on 420. I don’t support the legalization of pot. I support the decriminalization of pot. There’s a big difference.

Recently there was a headline in the paper about how a pot advocate won the lottery and has committed to spend a portion of his winnings on legalizing pot in Canada. I find it somewhat amusing that all of a sudden they are referred to as pot advocates. Back in the day we called them stoners. People who smoked pot all the time and were basically burn outs. Society didn’t look up to them back then. Times have changed.

The Separation between Church and State

I have two moral thoughts before catching up on some biker news back east. The first involves the separation of church and state. Someone brought this to my attention on facebook and I’m astounded it’s even being considered. In Riverside, California there’s a popular hiking trail on Mount Rubidoux.

Mount Rubidoux is a public park beloved by the community and has had a cross on its top since 1907. It is home to what locals say is the longest-running outdoor Easter sunrise service, which began in 1909. A group of extremists calling themselves advocates for the separation of church and state have threatened to sue city council if the cross isn’t taken down. As a result, the citizens are rallying together to preserve the religious and historical monument.

Before we weigh in and debate the issue we need to clarify one thing. This group that claims to be advocates for the separation of church and state are anything but. They are not advocates for the separation of church and state. They are advocates for the elimination of church. Before we go anywhere let’s be honest about that simple fact before we let anyone pervert and destroy the sacred constitution.

If this is a religious and historical monument, then tearing it down would be a violation of the constitution and their freedom of religion. It’s not about preserving Christian principles, it’s about preserving the constitution. Tearing down all the statues of Buddha or Islam or any religious symbol is not supporting the separation of church and State. It’s supporting a Marxist Leninist Atheist sate I.E. Communism where you’re not allowed to worship how where or what you may. That is where we are going with this. Just so we’re clear.

It is Communism that tells us we’re not allowed to go to church. It is communism that tells us we’re not allowed to pray or have religious symbols. It is the Constitution that tells us yes we can. It is the Constitution that tells us, yes we are allowed to pray and have religious symbols. First they came for the Christians, then they came for the Muslims. Then they came for the Buddhists. All we were left with was a Communist state with no human rights. That is not the road any of us want to take.

Come to think of it, there’s a group in California that want to outlaw circumcision. Next they’ll want to outlaw personal hygiene. Jews and Muslims both believe in circumcision. That is their constitutional right. Violating the constitution is against the law. Everyone gets all freaked out as soon as someone threatens to sue. Let them sue and make a counterclaim for costs and damages. The constitution needs to be preserved. We know what the end result is if it isn’t.

Top U.S. commander in Afghanistan under investigation

I’m all for scandals and conspiracies but this one is simply tabloid trash and when you put it together with the recent resignation of the director of the CIA, it smells fishy. Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is now under investigation for what is being described as "inappropriate communication" between the general and a woman implicated in the scandal swirling around former CIA director David Petraeus.

An unnamed Pentagon official told the Associated Press that between 20,000 and 30,000 pages of emails and other communications between Allen and Jill Kelley are under review. A senior defense official would only tell AP that some of the emails could be described as "flirtatious." However, other top officials have told AP that generally speaking, the messages are not sexually explicit.

Kelley was the recipient of threatening emails from Paula Broadwell, the 40-year-old woman with whom Petraeus, 60, admitting to having an extramarital affair. As the world turns. Who the hell cares? This is just soap opera drama. However, it does launch a parade of red flags. First we have big brother combing through 30,000,000 pages of private e-mail after searching their entire home for whatever they’re really looking for. Second, we have the Pentagon sending out press releases giving the media updates. That’s a red flag. If they weren’t out to get these guys, they’d be hushing it up. Instead, they’re on a character assignation campaign which is the first thing they do to a potential whistleblower.

Remember the Secret Service agents in Columbia that were caught stiffing a prostitute? There were tons of high ranking officials involved. No Pentagon press releases about that one and low and behold, it’s all swept under the carpet. Surprise surprise. Another red flag is that fact that General John Allen took over the command in Afghanistan from General David Petraeus. That means they knew each other and have worked together. It’s even possible that they were friends with each other.

Let’s put this in perspective. I certainly don’t condone adultery. Yet I find getting all freaked out because General Allen had private correspondence with some woman completely disproportionate when we say nothing about US troops helping protect the Opium farms in Afghanistan. That’s the real scandal right there. Not a word said about that though because the pentagon aren’t sending press releases out about that.

Reversing the contract for the oil pipeline is a way bigger scandal then a bunch of flirtatious e-mail. Yet that doesn’t matter because that’s the party line. What’s the matter, weren’t these guys gonna tow the party line any more?

Turns out court records show the former CIA director and Gen. John Allen intervened last September in a messy custody dispute on behalf of Jill Kelley’s sister, whom a judge described as dishonest and lacking integrity. This photo is of Petraeus with Jill Kelley’s twin sister Natalie Khawam. I’m not sure what all those beads he’s wearing represents but he looks like he’s having a good time. Somehow I don’t think there was anything secret about any of these relationships.

St. John's inmate mistakenly released from jail – again

A New Brunswick inmate who was released by mistake from a Saint John jail last month is now facing charges in a home invasion that resulted in a death. It's not clear if McCutcheon duped the administration at the detention centre or if it was a paperwork error.

In 2010 another inmate was mistakenly released from jail in St. John's Newfoundland even after trying to persuade guards, sheriff's officers, court staff and police that he should remain locked up.