Canadian Hells Angels busted in Spain - Update

Four Canadian Hells Angels have been arrested in Spain after allegedly smuggling 500 kilos of cocaine there from Columbia. One of the four Canadians arrested was on the vessel. One of the three men that met the vessel was a known member of the San Diego Hells Angles. These guys are crazy. Normally they get other people to do that kind of work so they don't get implicated. The Vancouver Province has posted a link to the YouTube video of the arrest.

Kim Bolan from the Vancouver Sun is reporting that "Two full-patch members — Jason Cyrus Arkinstall of Mission and Chad John Wilson of Haney — were among the B.C. men arrested in a coffee bar by Spain’s National Police. The other B.C. men facing charges in Spain are Scott Smitna and Michael Dryborough, associates of the Hells Angels in Mission and Haney."

Kim is also reporting that Chad John Wilson of Haney is formally a member of the San Diego chapter of the Hells Angels. Previously it was reported that a member of the San Diego Hells Angels involved in this drug ring was arrested in Spain as well. Arkinstall has an extensive criminal record mostly for assaults in Kelowna and Surrey but was also charged with drug trafficking in Langley back in 2003. Those charges were dismissed. One of Arkinstall's associates was charged in a drug related murder in Cranbrook.

Stephen Harper Protest in Kelowna - Update

I had a couple days off work and made it into town for the Joey Verma trial. I have a lot more to say and report about that but need a break because it was very upsetting. It’s such a struggle of good versus evil Speaking of which, I was able to attend the Stephen Harper protest in Kelowna today. I have a lot more to say about that as well but will start with two issues presented.



One issue that many locals had was about GMO – Genetically Altered Organisms. This is a huge issue with serious implications that are easily over looked by the public. We not taking about steroids to make food bigger or better. We are talking about food that is genetically modified with pesticides. I kid you not.



This isn’t jut someone spraying pesticides on a crop. This is someone injecting the pesticide right into the food itself. For example, BT is being injected into corn which is killing the bees. Killing insects is one thing but killing bees is another. When bees stop cross pollinating food stops being produced. The Council of Canadians were present as well.



There was even a brave young lady dressed in a seal suit. It was very hot. I was worried about her getting heatstroke. Evidently Harper is bringing back the seal hunt. Even when it is a dying business that is losing money and being subsidized with tax dollars because Russia, our biggest buyer of the product banned it. This is another example of bad business financially and morally. There are many more concerns people had with Harper in addition to my own but I will start with those two and try and enjoy some sunshine on my way home.



Harpers entrance certainly looked like a funeral procession. He was in the second car. They told all the protesters to go on the other side of the entrance so Harper wouldn’t see them. Pretty lame. I’ve posted some more pictures of the protest on Flikr. As much as I have my own issues with Harpers lack of fiscal responsibility and his contempt for civil liberty, it’s clear that most of the protesters there that day were local Kelowna residents upset by Genetically Modified Organisms, also known as GMO.



I had no idea what a huge and important issue this is. Genetically modifying food with pesticides that humans consume is absolutely insane. That is what we are talking about. These concerned citizens want all food that is genetically modified to be labeled as such since consumers do have a right to know what is in the food they eat and the products they buy.



The other valid concern they have is that they want to ban GMO foods altogether like many other countries have. I met with a local bee store and they confirmed that bee populations in Canada and around the world have been decreasing over the last four years and it is likely due to the genetically altered food that is killing them. Europe has banned GMO and their bee populations are starting to return.



I met Kevin Proteau from locals supporting locals at the anti Harper rally. Heidi Osterman from the True food Foundation was also there. These aren’t left wing kooks. These are local businesses concerned about Harper killing their industry. Small businesses in Kelowna pulling together to support free enterprise. That is what conservatives were supposed to do. Now Harper kills small business and promotes corporate monopolies which destroys the free market. That is a growing shameful list that's following Harper wherever he goes.



Kelowna Harper Protest on Flickr

David Revell back in court

Well, the Hobo clown's partner in crime is back in court. Dave Revell was in court in Vernon September 11th facing assault charges in three different town, Summerland, Westbank and Vernon. Looks like he's still actively involved in the business. Kinda surprising since Giles has completely fallen from grace. Bryce and the boys can't stand him. That would limit Revell's support as well.

9/11 Memorial Ride at Peace Arch

I attended the 9/11 memorial ride at Peace Arch today. It was mostly police, fire and first responders present. I have a memory card full of awesome pictures but have misplaced the memory card so I’ll have to paint a picture for you instead.

A blog reader sent me a poster about the ride before hand and when I asked if members of the Vancouver 9/11 truth movement were going to be present I’m sure they regretted sending me the link. I agreed that having a bunch of truthers on bullhorns disrupt the memorial by shouting 9/11 was an inside job over and over again wouldn’t be appropriate but something does have to be said. 9/11 was an inside job.

Truthers and Debunkers will both agree that 9/11 was a horrible human tragedy. It was a heinous murder and a lot of innocent people died. That much we can all agree on. How we respond to that horrific act is what causes the lines of division among us. I was there making a statement with a banner of my own that said Defend Civil Liberty. Protect the Constitution and the Charter of Rights. I had a flyer prepared but no one really asked any questions so I didn’t hand them out. However, many people did get their picture taken beside my banner.

I have two points to make. 9/11 was a horrible human tragedy. That much we can all agree on. I personally don’t want to let anyone use that human tragedy as an excuse to get rid of the Constitution and the Charter of Rights. I think that would be a serious mistake. A lot of innocent people died on 9/11 including first responders. We need to remember that and we need to protect the freedom they died for. You can’t protect freedom by doing away with it. The present attack on civil liberty by those sworn to protect it is a serious concern for everyone.

Most of us agree on that. Some believe that in the name of security we must violate civil liberty in order to protect it. I disagree. You can’t protect democracy by doing away with civil liberty. It just doesn’t make sense. In addition to addressing the fact that some want to exploit this tragedy to do away with the Constitution and the Charter of rights, there are a lot of unanswered questions about 9/11 that still must be addressed. Especially if we are going to let someone exploit this tragedy to break the law and fill us with fear and hate.

It was a positive and moving service. It started off with Bag pipes, another local tradition. After several speakers it ended with the last post on trumpet. Very fitting. Probably the most moving part of the ceremony was right before the end when they played a song about 9/11 by Alan Jackson called Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning).

The chorus of which states: “I'm just a singer of simple songs I'm not a real political man I watch CNN but I'm not sure I could Tell you the difference in Iraq and Iran But I know Jesus and I talk to God And I remember this from when I was young Faith, hope and love are some good things He gave us And the greatest is love." Finally, a Christian uttering the forbidden word – love. The greatest of these is love.

Love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things and endureth all things. Martin Luther King said “I’ve seen too much hate to want to hate and every time I see it I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear.” Many are exploiting 9/11 to teach hate and intolerance. We need to rise above this. We also need to address the unanswered questions.

Firefighters are taught to aggressively attack fires in steel frame towers because they do not collapse. Yet these did. All three. Even the third tower which wasn’t hit by any planes. We need to address the manner in which those towers collapsed. They collapsed into their own blueprint at freefall speed just like a controlled demolition. The only way that can happen is if the load bearing beams are simultaneously blown out. Left wing kooks and right wing conspiracy theorists aren’t the only ones saying that now. Experts in the field of demolition are.

The Port Authority was denied a permit to demolish the towers because they were half full of asbestos and that would be too toxic for the public. All the first responders were poisoned by that toxic asbestos when the towers collapsed. We need to remember that.

No conspiracy theorist made up Operation Northwoods. We need to address that document because that sinister plan was actually implemented on the USS Liberty. President Johnston recalled the air support that went to protect the Liberty when it was under attack by a known ally. We need to remember the innocent people that died on that vessel as well.

We also need to remember the Air India bombing and how CSIS was responsible for that heinous murder. They had a handler that helped plan the attack and provided the explosives. They knew it was going to happen and erased all their wire tap evidence after it did to prevent them from being blamed for it. Yet their handler planned the attack and provided the explosives. Every time we attend a 9/11 memorial we need to call for CSIS to be charged with murder in the Air India attack.

There are a lot of unanswered questions that we need to discuss. Silence is not acceptable any more. We owe it to the innocent people who died and the freedom they all died for.



9/11: Explosive Evidence - Experts Speak Out

Reexamining 9/11

9/11 Memorial Flyer

BC Hydro Fraud - Just like Enron

Front page of today’s Vancouver Sun is a headline that reads: BC Hydro forecasts 'massive' rate increases. Can I say I told ya so? Yet I wasn’t the only one. There are two separate criminal acts of fraud that need to be discussed here. Today the Vancouver Sun is reporting that “Homeowners, small businesses and industrial users are facing a staggering 26.4-per-cent electricity rate increase from 2014 to 2016, according to a confidential BC Hydro document.”

“According to a Rates Working Group document dated Aug. 23, 2013 obtained by The Vancouver Sun, the electricity rate increase is necessary to pay for Hydro's costs, which are estimated to rise to $4.8 billion in 2016 from $3.8 billion in 2014.”

Gee what increased costs mysteriously appeared? “Capital additions” i.e. all those bloody not so Smart Meters we didn’t want and a whole list of “deferred” payments. The first criminal act of fraud I want to discuss is Christy Clark’s fraudulent fudge it budget before the last election.

We knew that BC Hydro was hiding a massive debt the BC Liberals created by deferring it each year. Yet knowing that debt existed and has been perpetually deferred, Christy Clark’s fudge it budget claimed they were going to extract a dividend from BC Hydro to pay off some of their own over budget debt. We knew at the time that was a lie and constituted fraud but we all rolled it off as another broken campaign promise.

Yet these broken campaign promises are getting so extreme they constitute fraud. The other criminal act I want to discuss is how Gordon Campbell and the BC Liberals turned a once proud company in the energy sector into another Enron where their insider friends got rich while taxpayers were consumed with that fraudulent debt.

They privatized the power brokers that sold power to BC Hydro at an above market rate. That criminal act still needs to be addressed. This isn’t just another broken campaign promise like Gordon Campbell introducing the very gold plated pension he campaigned against. This is a premeditated act of fraud. These two criminal acts need to be addressed.

We can’t keep letting these politicians get away with fraud. They have to be held accountable for their actions. Financially. It is now time for criminal charges to be laid as well as a class action law suit against the BC Liberals for legal damages the taxpayers of BC have incurred as a result of their fraud..

Britney Irving was shot in the back - Update

Global reported that the jury was selected yesterday for Joey Verma’s murder trial and that evidence would be presented today in court to start the trial. Today Global is reporting that “the crown alleges Verma and Irving were in the midst of completing a large marijuana deal when Irving was shot four times, including twice in the back.” She was shot four times, twice in the back. That’s hardly something to brag about. Hardly worth promoting him to be the Vice President of the Kingpin Crew over. Castanet as well as Capital News are also reporting the story.

I will add that the jury was present when this evidence was heard in court. The purpose of a publication ban is to prevent the press from publishing evidence that was submitted in court when the jury was not present until after their verdict has been rendered. Since there are no other trials going on at this time I don’t see there being a publication ban being put on this trial.

Let’s not forget that Joey was a Hells Angels associate at the time. He is also friends with Donnie McWhirter. When Britney was first missing it was reported that Joey was with the Independent Soldiers who are also affiliated with the Hells Angels. Getting his truck stuck in that area was pretty incriminating for Joey. Yet, as much as they want to blame the pinheads for this, there is no way Joey would have stolen 50 pounds of pot from the Hells Angels. He would have left town but he didn’t. There is no way this murder was committed without the approval if not orders of the Kelowna Hells Angels.

CBC Kelowna morning radio program, Daybreak South have posted a sound clip of a synopsis of the first day of trial. In the Crown's opening remarks on Tuesday they said that Mike Roberts, the guy who owned the truck Verma used, told police he was supposed to take the fall for Irving's murder and accept responsibility. Crown did not say who ordered that.

Wednesday one of Brittney's friends testified that Brittney ran marijuana grows in and outside of Kelowna but "didn't know who she was running them for." There is no way it could have been for anyone but the Hells Angles. they kill rival drug dealers in BC. Info Tel are also covering the case.

Evidently all four shots were slugs from a shotgun not from a handgun or riffle. The two shots in the back were horizontal from back to front. The two shots in the front were in an upward direction front to back. This would imply that she was shot twice in the back first then the shooter shot her twice in the front while standing at her feet. Thus the upward trajectory of the slug. None of the four slugs exited the body. Each shot was fatal.

Overview of Brittney Irving’s Murder Trial

Britney’s brother took the stand and confirmed that Joey and Britney were in a relationship. Someone had mentioned that to me before but I had a hard time believing it. I thought Joey was a slime ball and Brittney was way out of his league. Yet Britney’s brother confirmed that she and Mike had been separated but remained best friends and that Brittney had a new boyfriend named Joey.

In court Joey looked sharp and unremorseful. He did not flinch when they showed pictures of her dead body on the TV screen. When Britney’s brother expressed concerns about the way the last drug deal was going to happen she kept reassuring him that Joey was a good guy and could be trusted. Sad. She really trusted him and was shot in the back as she was trying to run away from her attacker.

Evidently Joey is much higher up on the drug trafficking food chain than I had previously realized. I saw one of his associates, Dan Koski, show up to give Joey his support. He made sure Joey saw him when the court was adjourned and gave him the nod. Sad and bizarre how anyone can respect and support someone for murdering a girl in cold blood.

I will add that previous rumors of Brittney’s body being found dismembered in a barrel are untrue. The police showed pictures of her fully clad body lying dead in the woods where they found her. She was wearing a belly shirt. The man’s shoes and jacket she was wearing at the time can be explained by the fact that they went for a walk in the muddy woods which was cool. She put on the man’s jacket to be warm and the shoes because her girl shoes weren’t really made for walking through the muddy forest.

It wasn’t a matter of her body being stripped naked then re clothed. She was wearing her clothes when she was shot. The shot in her abdomen from the front nicked her jeans. That means she was wearing those pants when she was shot. The crazy part is the way the deal was supposed to go down. She ran a grow for “someone” that was busted. It’s wasn’t a fully operative grow op, it was a clone show. They would take trimmings from an existing plant and make several smaller plants that would be sold to other grows to produce. The 1500 plant show were just trimmings for others to grow not fully mature plants.

After the police busted that grow, they locked it up and seized all their cash. After they did that they had no money and no place to live. That’s why they were staying at the Day’s Inn. Britney was frantically trying to get as much pot together for one big deal to put some food on the table and help pay for her rehab she planned on attending.

According to Brittney’s brother, the plan was she was supposed to meet Joey with the product. She would park her car and her and Joey would go in the bush to shoot guns while the buyers would inspect the product in the vehicle. Britney’s brother thought that was strange because normally when making a drug deal you don’t want to attract attention, you want to be quiet. Shooting guns off during a drug deal sounded suspicious and he kept telling her that. She in turn kept reassuring him that Joey was a good guy and could be trusted. Sad.

After Brittney went missing, her brother found one of her other cell phones with Joey’s number on it. He called the number and said “Where the f is my sister?! She was supposed to meet you.” He claimed Joey said Brittney never showed up to which her brother said you’re an f-ing liar and hung up.

The thing is, this big drug deal so to speak wasn’t going to make her that much money. Her brother testified that she was only making $100 per pound and that was supposed to be good according to Brittney. There were pictures of various qualities of pot and she only accepted the highest grade returning pictures of the lesser grade. It appears there was at least 50 pounds of product in the final deal. 50 pounds times $100 is only $5,000. Hardly enough to kill someone over.

It is my opinion that the people she ran the clone show for were making her come up with the money to repay for the police bust just like they did to Jeremy Snow. That would make more sense and would explain why Joey didn’t leave town after he was alleged to have murdered her.

Brad Saari testified. Evidently, Joey admitted to an undercover cop in prison he had a sexual relationship with Britney. I suppose he didn't tell Kim that at the time. It supports what her brother said about them being in a relationship at the time. It also explains the test messages produced in court between Britney and joey where Britney said things like I'll be right there hun. She cared about him and she trusted him. It's sad how he betrayed her so viciously and has no remorse for it whatsoever. It's all about the money. Greed.

Britney's brother testified that right after his sister went missing he found her other cell phone with Joey's number and called it. He told the court he said where the f is my sister? Her brother then claimed Joey said she never showed up to which he said you're a f*ing liar and hung up. The evidence that Joey's cousin helped Joey tow the truck he borrowed out from where Britney was murdered is proof Joey lied about Britney not showing up.

Overview of Brittney Irving’s Murder Trial

Witness intimidation at the Joey Verma Trial

Accused tells witness to keep his mouth shut

Marijuana for Medical Purposes Regulations

There has been a lot of debate about the legalization of marijuana recently. Justin Trudeau has sadly made it an election promise to legalize pot which has completely distracted his party’s platform from anything positive or constructive. His willingness to abandon the Charter of Rights while he pushes for the legalization of pot is somewhat suspect. We’re going to take your rights away and give away free pot so you don’t worry about it.

Several former Vancouver mayors have put out a declaration supporting the legalization of pot. Many advocates are pushing for the legalization of every harmful drug under the sun and even want taxpayers to pay for addicts harmful drugs like they are doing now with the “pilot” project at the Not so Safe Injection site in Vancouver. As if that won’t bankrupt our sacred medical system. You can't get an MRI but you can get free cocaine. The Issue even made the front page of the Vancouver Province asking which of the local political leaders have smoked pot.

Christy Clark said “There was a lot of that going on when I was in high school and I didn’t avoid it altogether.” Not a big surprise. At least she’s being honest. Most either said yes or like Dianne Watts and Jim Chu refused to answer the question. Refusing to answer the questions certainly appears to plead the fifth. They don’t want to incriminate themselves. If they have never smoked it they would say so. I notice they didn’t ask Toronto’s Mayor the abusive Rob Ford.

Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore said “I have never smoked while in elected office.” White Rock Mayor Wayne Baldwin said “I do not have a need.” Both statements are pretty lame as well. It does not say they have never smoked pot. It’s like Rob Ford saying he’s not addicted to crack. He didn’t say he has never smoked it. In my opinion whether or not any or all of these elected officials have ever tried pot isn’t relative to whether or not we should legalize it.

My position is clear. I support the decriminalization of pot not the legalization of pot. I realize about 50% of people in BC support legalization but I am not comfortable with it. More than 50% agree with decriminalization. However, I completely agree that mandatory minimum sentences for the possession of pot is stupid and counter productive. It prevents us from applying mandatory minimum sentences for violent crime and for selling not possessing crack or crystal meth which is what we need to do.

After watching the documentary about the Mexican cartel on TV the other night called Narco Bling, the problem is overwhelming. From a strategic point of view I think they should set aside going after grow ops and prioritize going after crystal meth labs and cocaine which is sold here as crack. There is a huge difference between those drugs and burning up all our resources chasing pot prevents us from addressing the much more serious problem of crack and crystal meth. It’s like arresting everyone for speeding while letting everyone else commit murder. It’s disproportionate.

The new concern people have is Harper’s new attempt to prevent people with medicinal licenses for pot from growing their own pot for personal use. I think that is absurd and counter productive. It’s like banning generic drugs and forcing people to buy drugs from big pharmaceutical companies that have monopoles on the market. Somewhat suspect.

I don’t believe that bill violates the Charter of Rights but it does violate the Supreme Court decision that told the Federal government it needs to make medicinal pot more accessible for those who have prescriptions for it. I realize there is a problem with medicinal grow ops being taken over by the Hells Angels and them supplying the non medicinal market. Growing it for yourself however, with a prescription is not growing it for others. In this case Harper’s bill does help the Hells Angels monopoly on the market.

Likewise I find Dianne Watts’ campaign against allowing people with pot prescriptions to grow it for personal use to be hypocritical and counter productive. Maybe she should be a little more concerned with them selling crack in public outside the Front Room. I thought Dianne Watts was on the right track in the beginning. I was wrong.

Welcoming campaign contributions from Casinos where drug money is laundered and from dirty developers tied to Gordon Campbell and BC Rail is deplorable. Its like George Bush promoting a war on drugs while the agency and his campaign profits from a monopoly on that market. I’m not saying Gateway Casinos launders drug money. I’m saying that drug money is laundered at their Casinos which they profit from. What I want to know is how did Gateway Casinos lose $1.5 billion? Where did that money go? Answering that question would answer quite a bit about the real source of the Vancouver gang war.

Breaking Bad toy crystal meth lab on sale

Human insanity descends to new levels. The Daily Mail is reporting that there’s a new toy on the market for kids that looks like Lego but is made by a different company. It’s a crystal meth lab from the TV show Breaking Bad. One Twitter comment summed it up well. “Made for children raised by parents who should know better.”

A blog reader had commented on the TV series a while ago saying how outrageous it was that a TV show would glorify such a horrible drug as crystal meth. A troll then came on and said it didn’t glorify crystal meth it showed how bad it was. Not having seen the show I couldn’t really say for sure but felt it was wrong. Now I can say for sure it is absurd. Those toys are a prime example.

This is no Betty Crocker oven. The TV series has University chemists on site for technical realism. However, their fake crystal meth lab is anything but realistic. This YouTube video shows them making blue candy crystal meth on the TV show. It doesn’t look anything like a real crystal meth lab. It looks like a cross between a clean chemistry lab and a Martha Stewart kitchen. It gives the false appearance that they are making this nice clean candy as though they were making toffee or caramel apples. It is giving kids the false impression that crystal meth is clean and safe just like a delicious candy when it is anything but.



Real crystal meth labs are disgustingly dirty and dangerous. Real crystal meth is made from Drano. This TV show is criminally negligent portraying a false image that promotes the horrible drug. Crack is horrible. Crystal meth is worse. Much worse. It’s addictiveness and it’s destructive effect on the human brain and body is astounding. Even if the drug was made in a clean chemistry lab, it would not change it’s harmful effect on the human body.

Creating a toy crystal meth lab patterned after that false image is compete irresponsibility. Any responsible parent would indeed know better than to buy it for their kids. Sadly some parents might be deceived by the false image about clandestine labs the TV show portrays and think it’s OK when it certainly is not.

It’s astounding this show is on TV portraying this false image. It is astounding this show has won awards and has been on for as long as it has. You don’t have to be a cynic to figure out why. Gary Webb was right. The agency was responsible for the US crack epidemic in the 1980’s. We know the Hells Angels have been trafficking crystal meth in Eastern United States. According to Michael Riconosciuto, the agency was the one cooking it in California for them. Promoting this false image on the TV Show Breaking Bad promotes the CIA’s drug trafficking network.

Jerry Langton wrote a book about the increase in crystal meth labs in Mexico. The other night there was a documentary on TV about the Mexican drug cartels called Narco Bling. The documentary claimed that the Mexican cartels are now supplying 80% of the US crystal meth market. The same cartels the Agency was supporting in Operation Fast and Furious.



Making matters worse, a blog reader just sent in these links to fake toy crystal meth from the Breaking Bad TV show. They even have mobile meth lab T-shirts. That is seriously messed up.

UBC Rape Chant

Well this is rather bizarre. Turns out the Sauder School of Business did the same ridiculous chant about under age rape during Frosh week at UBC that they did in Halifax. This is insane. It’s not a matter of opinion polls. What they did was illegal. If those students aren’t expelled then the University has to be sued for sexual harassment.

Under age rape is illegal. Bragging about it in front of first year students is sexual harassment. In any workplace they would be fired instantly or the employer would be legally liable for sexual harassment and sued. Looks like we have to sue UBC now too.

It is astounding that they don’t get it. It’s not just illegal. It’s Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Underage rape. Let’s see, the legal age of consent is 16. Used to be 14 but 40 year old perverts were hooking up with 14 year old girls so they bumped it back up to 16. So these are University students singing about raping girls under the age of 16. How much under? They don’t say. They are singing about pedophilia. That’s not just illegal, it’s deranged. Pedophiles get assaulted in prison. Why on earth would anyone in their right mind joke about promoting it?

Meanwhile Saint Mary’s University has suspended one of its students after the 24-year-old Halifax man pleaded guilty on Tuesday to sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. He was her soccer coach.

A Bear encounter on Grouse Mountain

I enjoy the Grizzly bear exhibit on Grouse Mountain. It never ceases to amaze me that tiny electric fence holds back such massive and powerful bears. Coming face to face with a Grizzly in that setting is a good thing. It helps people see them for what they are and understand how connected we are and how important it is to protect them.



I went up Grouse today and after passing by the Grizzly exhibit I hiked up the side of Dam Mountain to Goat Mountain. There is a lot going on at Grouse. The new zip lines are pretty cool. The fog rolled in so the helicopter tours and the parasailing were grounded.



I decided to proceed with the hike anyways because I wanted to get some cardio in as I’m hoping to make another attempt at the Lions this year. Right before I get to Goat Mountain I’m walking along a narrow trail in a wooded are then all of a sudden there was a big thump and grunt on the trail right in front of me. This big ass bear stumbled down the hill out of the bush onto the trail right in front of me. We were both startled and it made an aggressive sound that made me reach for the bear spray instead of my camera.

The bear shot off the trail so I cautiously proceeded ahead talking loudly but calmly letting it know where I was so it wouldn’t be startled. The trail made a sharp turn to the left up the mountain and I saw someone coming down. I said did you see the bear? He said yeah it’s a cub right in that tree. I slowly turned my head to the left to look at the tree right beside me and the trail which was shaking and I said that tree? He said yeah. OK it’s time to turn around I said. I just saw it’s mother down there and she wasn’t happy. You don’t want to get between a mother bear and her cub and I didn’t want to spray a bear protecting it’s cub.

Normally seeing a bear in the wild is not a big deal. You make noise, let them know where you are without sounding threatening and everything is fine. In this case we were caught right between a scared cub in a small tree and it’s angry mother. Not a good place to be in. We walked for about five minutes and I said OK I’m having lunch and stopped for a break. A few hikers passed and I told them about the bear. Some were cautious, some proceeded anyways. I waited until the bear had a chance to get the cub off the trail, and proceed up the mountain without another incident.



It’s unfortunate the fog cut the visibility because the view from there is amazing. You’re right beside Crown Mountain and from Goat Ridge you get a magnificent view of Coliseum Mountain over in the Lynn Headwaters. This is a picture of Goat Ridge on a clear day.



The bear encounter made up for the limited visibility. Ya gotta respect seeing animals in the wild. When I was a kid Stanley Park was a zoo. There were black bears, polar bears, penguins and sea otters. Kids today don’t see that and are sometimes distanced and removed from nature and the animal kingdom. Perhaps that’s part of the reason there is such a wanton disregard for the environment now a days. A lot of people do care about the environment but many others don’t.

I saw a ridiculous article recently about someone promoting a garbage incinerator in Surrey claiming that people think the brown haze in the Fraser Valley summer air is from pollution but it’s not. The guy was on crack. Of course it’s from pollution. That’s why they announce air quality levels on the news during the summer. The Fraser Valley is a valley surrounded by mountains. In the summer the air doesn’t move and the pollution just hangs there.

All you have to do is drive up to the look out on Cypress Mountain any time of the day or night. Everywhere you look you see smokestacks billowing smoke into the air. That’s why there is a brown haze over the Fraser Valley. Burning toxic garbage would increase that pollution exponentially.

When you’re up in the mountains, you don’t have to be a tree hugger to see and feel how connected we are to the environment we live in. Hiking up the mountain getting the lungs working and the heart pumping with all those big trees around breathing in all that fresh air. We breathe in the fresh oxygen the trees produce and they absorb the CO2 we exhale. We are totally connected. We are a part of the ecosystem. Damaging the ecosystem doesn’t just create an imbalance, it also damages us. The air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. It really is that simple.

The insane greed that is consuming these short sighted rapists who want to burn toxic garbage and burn enough coal to blacken the planet is really astounding. As time progresses we are supposed to get more technologically advanced. As we go to school we are supposed to get more educated. I don’t see it with this corporate greed that is driving us down the road to Bilderberg.

Small business is good. Corporate monopolies are not. Preston Manning said being environmentally responsible is being fiscally responsible. Fiscal responsibility means we don’t leave our children a huge debt. It’s the same thing with the planet. We want our kids to have a planet to live on as well as their kids. Future generations. That is progressive thinking. This coal obsession and Garbage Incinerator is Devolution. We’re going backwards not forward and it's greed that’s driving it. Blind, short sighted, selfish greed.