Gary Webb and the Fiscal Cliff Part 1

The Gary Webb series was a simple model logical progression. Gary Webb was an accomplished award winning investigative journalist. Garry Webb claimed the CIA were responsible for the US crack epidemic in the /80’s. After making that statement Gary Webb’s credibility was attacked. They claimed he was a conspiracy theorist. He was not.

The same person who made that absurd claim was himself pardoned by George Bush Sr. for their illegal involvement with Iran contra. Iran contra as we have established wasn’t just selling Iran weapons in exchange for the release of American hostages. It was selling Iran weapons to raise money for the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. It had nothing at all to do with freeing hostages. Yet Iran Contra went far beyond even that.

Basically, Gary Webb was right. Despite the personal attacks and political pressure his paper faced, he was right. The CIA were indeed responsible for the US crack epidemic in the /80’s. That fact needs to be established and reviewed because we are seeing the same thing repeat itself in the modern day Operation Fast and Furious.

So before I dive into the conclusion of my Gary Webb series this month we need to establish two things. First that Gary Webb was right. The CIA was in fact responsible for the US crack epidemic in the /80’s. They used the rationalization that the end justifies the means. They used the sale of cocaine to raise money to support the military campaign in Nicaragua to fight communism. Unfortunately, the end does not justify the means in real life.

The second thing we need to establish is that the CIA has a long history of drug trafficking. Operation Fast and Furious is very real. That is the same thing they did in Iran contra. That is the same thing they did under Bill Clinton’s watch in Mena Arkansas. Barry Seal and Chip Tatum were first hand witnesses of that. Bo Gritz and Terry Reed were first hand witnesses of the government’s involvement in drug trafficking in Vietnam. George Bush Sr. was directly involved. He is the one that fed the agency the poison kool aid and got them addicted to drug trafficking. Somewhat ironic that the agency’s headquarters is named after him. It forces us to question if there ever has been a good director of the CIA. A bitter tree cannot bring forth good fruit.

What went on in Mena Arkansas is relevant because it happened again in Mexico with Fast and furious. What happened in Vietnam is relevant because it is happening again in Afghanistan. The Taliban brought heroin production in Afghanistan to a grinding halt. After the allied invasion of Afghanistan that country has returned to being the world’s largest producer of heroin. Ever year after the invasion the production of heroin has steadily increased.

So, now that we have established that Gary Webb was right, we need to ask ourselves, if the CIA lied about drug trafficking, what else did they lie about? If the CIA broke the law then, what other laws have they broken and what else are they capable of? I’m not referring to 9/11. We all know about Operation Northwoods. We all know about the USS Liberty. We all know steel framed buildings don’t collapse at freefall speed into their own blueprint without the help of explosives blowing out the load bearing beams. Any architect or engineer will tell you that.

The conclusion of my Gary Webb series is going somewhere else. It takes us over the financial cliff. May the new era be an enlightened one where we learn from history and prevent the same criminal fraud from reoccurring over and over again.

Christmas Eve in Sarajevo

And now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Drum roll please... Make that two... Then remix it one more time... Christmas Eve in Sarajevo comes to Vancouver to confront the gross injustices that continue behind closed doors. From our Holy land to yours - Peace. For the love of God man, open your eyes and Look at what we've done...

Local News

Sadly there was a murder in Kamloops this month on December 5th. A 16 year old girl from Terrace. Tragic. A meth lab was busted in Surrey. And a bizarre DUI in Kelowna but it wasn’t Giles this time. Giles is still in the pokey. Another snowboarder is rescued after going out of bounds on Cypress. Revelstoke too.

The government says it will contract out air to air refueling of the F-35’s if they buy them because they aren’t equipped to refuel those types of jets. Another reason not to buy them. I thought they said the deal was done. Looks like it was just put on hold while we recover from the shock of Harper selling our sovereignty to Communist China. A corporation that has it’s own police force and arrested people for their freedom of association.

Christmas Rain

We’ve talked a bit about Vancouver rain and how going out and about on a fall rainy day is a very Vancouver thing to do. Christmas rain is a bit different. It’s hard to get into the spirit of Christmas in the rain. I think it’s a little easier to get into the Christmas spirit in the Okanagan or back east where there’s snow. We occasionally get a white Christmas but not often. We recently had snow in the city but the rain quickly washed most of it away as usual.

Yet one thing we need to remember about Christmas rain is that as long as it’s below 8 degrees Celsius, all that Christmas rain in Vancouver is fresh powder on the local mountains. If you’re not there you miss it completely. As I’ve said before, driving up the mountains and crossing over the freezing point where the rain becomes snow is magical. After spending the day on the mountain in fresh snow then returning to the rainy city below is like waking up from a pleasant dream.



Nevertheless, today we went to the Vancouver Christmas market which is something fairly new. It’s a traditional German market with hand made crafts and lots of traditional food and drink. This picture is a local guy originally from Toronto dishing up some traditional German noodles. One is plain spaetzle for the vegetarians, the other is spaetzle fried with ham and Swiss cheese while the other is a different type of noodle with some potato mixed in. They’re quite nice. I’m not a big fan of sauerkraut though. I prefer the plain ones with a little glazed sugar. I like the spaetzle with ham and cheese. They had a girl from Switzerland glazing the cheese and the sugar with a small blow torch. I kid you not.



The chocolate fountain is a family favorite. I’m not big on fruit dipped in chocolate myself but I think the idea of melting chocolate and putting it through a fountain is cool. So even in the rain there are things to do to help you feel the spirit of Christmas.

I remember speaking with an Australian guy on one of the local mountains one winter. He said they’re not really big into the turkey dinner at Christmas back home. I asked him what a Christmas tradition was for him in Australia and he lit up and said we always have shrimp on the Barbie at the beach. Barbeque on the beach at Christmas I thought? Then I clued in, oh yeah Christmas is in the middle of your summer. That would definitely put a different perspective on it. Rolf Harris and the six white boomers. My father used to listen to that all the time at Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, there’s a video going around of Nina Grewel saying how as a Sikh she is not offended by Christians celebrating Christmas. It’s a powerful video and pretty much sums up my definition of multiculturalism. Someone else’s traditions don’t diminish mine any more than my traditions diminish anyone else’s. She claims we can still use the C word and she is absolutely right. Merry Christmas everyone. May it be a peaceful one.

More guns from Fast and Furious

We have an update on Operation Fast and Furious that ties in with the December series on Gary Webb. Prime Time Crime reported on a LA Times article about more Operation Fast and Furious guns found after a drug cartel shoot out in Mexico that killed five on November 24 2012.

The Toronto Sun is reporting that Federal authorities were probing how a gun bought by George Gillett, a former top U.S. federal agent in Phoenix ended up at the scene of a fatal shootout that killed a beauty queen in Mexico.

Even Fox news asks the same question. The answer is simple. It was part of Operation Fast and Furious where government agencies were selling the Mexican cartel guns and bringing back tons of cocaine as payment. Bringing back tons of cocaine implies that they sold them a lot more than three guns.

Earlier this month ATF’s William McMahon was fired in the wake of the Fast and Furious investigation. McMahon’s lawyer said “Mr. McMahon was unfortunately the victim of a politically charged football match over an operation that was officially sanctioned.“ This goes right up to Obama and his own Oliver North, Eric Holder. Who I might add worked with Bill Clinton during the Mena Arkansas Arms Dealing Drug Trafficking scandal.

Last year ATF Director Kenneth Melson resigned as Obama retaliated against whistleblowers. My question is this, if Obama is going to pursue his gun control bill in the United States, will his government agencies stop selling arms to the Mexican drug cartels? Please advise. Arming criminals and disarming civilians is not gun control.

Stop the December Violence

Last night in what appears to be a domestic dispute, a man in Surrey shot a woman in front of her 10 year old son then put the gun on himself when the police tried to arrest him. What is wrong with these people? I realize December is a stressful month but for God’s sake it’s Christmas. Stop shooting people. Thankfully the woman survived and was hit in the shoulder and or wrist and the shooter didn’t shoot himself. Nevertheless all this violence both gang related and domestic needs some time with Dr. Phil.

Why would a man want to shoot his ex, then kill himself? She cheated on him? If that’s the case, you’re better off without that trailer trash. No need to murder her. How many guys out there cheat on their woman? If every woman shot every guy who ever cheated on them we would see a significant reduction in the population. This if I can’t have you no one can persona is messed up. Get over yourself. If it didn’t work out, then she’s not the one. Someone else is. There’s no need to wish misfortune on someone.

Same with all these gang shootings. You think they’d have a little respect for the season and for public safety but no. They keep shooting rival drug dealers over Christmas because they are consumed in their greed. That is what this is about. Make no mistake. There is no honour in greed.

Take Columbia. Farc offers a unilateral ceasefire during Christmas and the government of Columbia rejects their proposal. What is up with that? US troop backing the government of Columbia because someone discovered oil and now they are rejecting a December ceasefire. Go figure.

Then there was that horrible massacre in the States where a shooter opened fire on young school children. Columbine couldn’t do it. The Dark Night Rises didn’t do it. Killing young children at school did. Now Obama is talking about gun control and there seems to be enough support to push it through.

Murder is horrible. All the massacres are outrageous. Killing young children at school is heart breaking. Yet I’m not sure gun control is the answer. Criminals will always have access to guns. But I am sure there is way too much violence in December that is related to the gangs as well as to domestic disputes.

Within New Zealand with one in three women experiencing violence from a partner in their lifetime, while on average, fourteen women are killed each year by a member of their own family. No doubt it’s similar in Canada. This needs to be addressed.

Where are you Christmas?

Giuseppe Fetta shot in Montreal

More December shootings. Freddy posted this link in the other forum. December 17 Giuseppe Fetta, a man known to the police with mafia ties was shot in Northern Montreal. A police source said that in recent months Fetta is believed to have associated with Andrea (Andrew) Scoppa, 48, a convicted drug trafficker known to have ties to the Mafia in Montreal for several years. Giuseppe Fetta was referred to as a Rizzuto bodyguard.

According to court records, about a decade ago Scoppa got involved in a dispute with members of the Hells Angels over who controlled certain parts of northern Montreal and required the input of Mafia leaders to negotiate a settlement. How’s that settlement holding out now as the Hells Angels continue their violent control of the Canadian drug trade?

Mega Casino Misrepresentation

Gateway Casinos bussed in non Surrey residents for the public meeting to support their drug money laundering operation that required a $1.5 billion debt restructuring. Bribes and dirty tricks to support blood money. I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. They're wearing the wrong shirts.

Christmas Preparations

There’s still lots to write and talk about. I have two final pieces for the Gary Webb Series. Likely the final one will comprise this year’s Christmas epiphany. I’ll save my discussion about Redemption and leaving the game in my New Years message. I still have to mention John Bryce’s new music video that makes Weird Hals’ I’m on a boat video look even more ridiculous.

And of course tomorrow is the big day! The planetary alignment. Unfortunately it looks like yet another day of rain so it doesn’t look like we’re going to be able to see it. I’m sure we’ll be able to see some kind of morning alignment around Venus for a few days after the fact in case we get a break in the clouds at sunrise.

Yet I really need to get ready for Christmas. All this work work work is good for paying the bills but it’s easy to miss the spirit of the season. We went on the Stanley Park train yesterday to see the Christmas lights. I haven’t done that for years. The fire department has some lights set up just outside. We’ll have to check out the Bear Creek park train too. They do the same thing.

There’s lots of free places to see Christmas lights. I remember one house in Surrey that would do their lights up every year and had a large train set in their back yard. Usually the paper lists addresses of houses that do their lights up over Christmas. I hear Capalino suspension bridge has lights. If you live local buying a year pass is worth it. That tree top adventure is nice in the summer. Just like the Aquarium or the Planetarium. Buying a year membership makes it worth while.

The same with the gondola on Grouse Mountain. A year pass is worth it. Now that’s festive. A sleigh ride on the mountain, a small ice rink and even live reindeer. It’s worth bringing the kids. Although I don’t think they have horses pulling the sleigh any more. They do on Silverstar. Lots of nice things to see and do on Silverstar and Big White.

So here it is, Get festive. Enjoy the season. Take time out from the road rage and the mall rage to look at the lights and enjoy your freedom. Yeah I had to go and use the F word again. One blog reader was asking my opinion about Giles spending Christmas in prison this year. I have to admit it’s a little comforting knowing that justice has finally arrived with that guy. Dale Sweeney was trying to get parole for Christmas in the wake of his cocaine trafficking trial. The big house crew isn’t very bright. Spending Christmas in prison isn’t very fun.

Nevertheless, don’t forget that part of being a good Christian is to visit the sick and those in prison. Strange as it may sound. Anyone can change but the key word there is change. You can’t change unless you admit you’ve done something wrong. Crack and crystal meth are horrible drugs. Profiting from that is wrong. Torturing addicts for drug debts is deranged. Lies and denial won’t change that. Be a man. Face the facts and come clean. You’ll feel a lot better about yourself.

So here’s a little tribute to Davie Giles and all the boys in the dumb house crew spending this Christmas in prison. Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson singing Folsom Prison Blues. And to the rest of you out there who think you can live a lie while you torture addicts and live off the avails, don’t kid yourself. Buyer Beware. God’s gonna cut you down. Word.

Vernon Greeks lawyer pleads guilty to criminal organization charges

William Jacob Mastop is a lawyer who represented the Vernon Greeks and was himself charged with participating in a criminal organization. Today he plead guilty to those charges. One of his bail conditions was a no-contact order with past or current members of the Hells Angels or the Greeks. Interesting that it specifically named the Hells Angels. We know the Vernon Greeks were a puppet club who sold drugs for the Hells Angels. Hells Angels support gear was found in their office.

Haslett said Mastrop wasn’t involved in murder or drug dealing but he assisted the Greeks by providing them with documents that they wouldn’t normally be able to access that aided their criminal activities. “He was aware of the murders, everyone in town was,” he said. “He would have known they were killing people.”

Speculation arises about the possibility of those court documents including names of police informants which is what some claim got Ron Thom killed. Thom, who the gang mistakenly believed had cooperated with police, was lured to a road near Vernon in the middle of the night and shot to death. Smart said when Thom’s bullet-ridden body was left on Commonage Road, it was “to send a message to others involved in the illegal drug subculture.”