Star Wars: The Force Awakens

OK so I've seen the new Star Wars movie and I'm not going to ruin it for those who haven't. I am going to comment on two aspects of the movie and apply it to our day. One is when good people go bad and the other is the struggle to obtain and maintain a free republic as opposed to a galactic empire so to speak. Both revolve around the struggle between good and evil.

This episode is basically a remake of the first episode only it's the next generation showing how history tends to repeat itself. Once again we see a good guy go bad and once again we see the empire rise up to take over the free republic. Only this time a storm trooper sees the light and leaves the empire. Somehow he figured out that killing innocent people was bad. It's hard to conceive how more couldn't figure that out but then again, no one wants to be a "traitor." If you are killing innocent people you are a traitor. You're not a traitor if you object to it.

So Luke trained a Jedi who turned to the dark side just like how Obi Wan did.The rise of the empire appears to be the same old drive for power and greed. One group wants to have power over another group so they try to over throw the free republic and establish a galactic empire where civil liberty does not exist. In the original Star wars saga a false flag attack was used to con the senate into giving up civil liberty. This time there was no false flag. A group just rose up and said here we are. We're talking over. The boldness of Bilderberg so to speak.

So the new saga has begun. Will the free republic be saved or crushed? Will the bad guy become good in the end? Hard to say. He starts off pretty bad yet already his weakness has been revealed. Time will tell. It always does. Yet in the struggle between good and evil it's hard to conceive how some can glorify evil. Oppression, betrayal, greed, a jedi seeks none of these things.

French Tradition - Je me souviens

I must admit the recent lull in gang shootings over Christmas has been refreshing. Perhaps there is hope for this crazy world after all. I would like to take advantage of the break in violence to say a word about French tradition. Originally I was a chef by trade. When I was young I worked at a French / German / Swiss restaurant. I was raised with schnitzels and goulash and spaetzle and hollandaise sauce. Wherever you go, all the cooking terms are in French. That's because the French wrote the book on the culinary arts - twice. First it was Escoffier and cuisine classique as described in Ma Cuisine. Then they rewrote it and came out with Nouvelle Cuisine. Personally I like to remember the old and remix it with the new so the old ways aren't lost forever.

Back in the day they used to have something called chaud froid and aspec. At a buffet ,they would cover a ham or turkey with a white gelatin and cover it with intricate garnish. It was quite the art form. Then someone thought you shouldn't cover up the natural beauty of food and in the name of simplicity, the old ways were lost forever. I totally support Nouvelle Cuisine. I just think that many use it and the term rustic to become lazy and lose the old traditions. That's why I like to remember the old ways and remix them with the new.

England, Scotland and Ireland aren't know for their culinary expertise. England has roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, Ireland has Guinness and Scotland has haggis. More of a test of manhood than a culinary delight. The French refined the art completely. Yet it goes beyond food. French is a very romantic language. In Quebec they have a dozens ways to say girlfriend: mon amie, mon amour, ma vie, ma blond, ma chum - the list goes on forever. Another thing the French were passionate about was freedom. The motto for the French revolution was liberty, equality and fraternity. It was the French who gave the Americans the statue of liberty.

The French were known for their chivalry. They would have duels over honour. Netflicks is running a series called the Musketeers remaking the famous old story of the fight for right like Arthur and the knights of the round table. It leads us once again to the struggle between good and evil.

Jean Baptiste

As the holiday hype dissipates, I'd like to reflect on some French traditions. Before I do that, I'd like to make reference to John the Baptist or as they say in Quebec Jean Baptiste. June 24th is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, a National holiday in Quebec. So just who was Jean Baptiste?

The Christian calendar seems to revolve around Christmas and Easter. For many it's the only two times a year they actually go to church. The birth of Christ and the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. Santa and the Easter Bunny have blended in making it a fun holiday for everyone even if they're not Christian. Yet somewhere between those two events was a man named John the Baptist. Here's a guy that prepared the way for Christ's mission.

History will tell us that Christ came over 2,000 years ago and taught many things before he was finally rejected and crucified. Josephus a non Christian Jewish historian will confirm that. Whether or not Christ actually rose from the dead, well that is indeed debatable. Yet the fact that he was here and taught many things about living a good life is not debatable. It is a historical fact.

As with Jean Baptiste. That is part of history. He was a missionary of sorts. Some might say he was an odd fellow, who lived in the wilderness, wore sackcloth and ate locus with wild honey. I used to work on a Kibbutz in Israel. I've seen the size of their grasshoppers. They're pretty big. Wouldn't take many to make a meal. Not something I'd want to try myself.

When I was in New York the brothers used to say yo bro you're on a mission which meant you're crazy. I'd always respond with yo bro I'm going on a mission. That was back when the Eurythmics came out with that song Don't mess with a Missionary Man.

Elijah was a missionary man. Some kids were making fun of him calling him baldy so he cursed them out. After that a couple of bears came out of the wilderness and ate the kids that were mocking him. They say karma's a b*tch so it is.

So back to JB. John the Baptist baptized people in the river Jordan. He even baptized Christ. Yet things didn't end will for John. He upset King Herod who put John the Baptist in jail. He was then beheaded and his severed heard was served on a silver platter. Josephus also confirmed Herod killed John the Baptist. That is a part of history. Yet me thinks things ended worse for Herod since even Ozzy Osbourne knows life does not end at death. We are free to make choices but we must one day face the consequence of our choices good or bad. That is natural justice. Peace.

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas everyone. I'm not much into the Christmas spirit this year but winter is still my favorite time of year. The magic of a fresh snowfall transforming the landscape into a frozen paradise causes me to peacefully reflect.

I like water. Living in Vancouver we get lots of rain. So does Ireland. That's why it's always green. Yet water comes in different forms. You can ski on or snowshoe and climb ice and snow in the winter and you can surf or paddle on it in the spring, summer and fall. For those more adventurous than I you can ever scuba dive under neath it. I prefer to paddle on it or walk on it when it's frozen. The ice carving festival at Lake Louise was clearly a high point in my travels.



When the light hits ice it's a refreshing magical moment frozen in time. Like a prism transforming the light's rays into a rainbow. It's like looking at the magic of water being tossed up into he air and crystallizing into an intricate snowflake when it freezes. If that isn't magic, I don't know what is. Behind the dark clouds the sun is still shining. Out of the darkness and into the sun. Peace.

Body found in Fraser River

VanCityBuzz is reporting that "A body was discovered in the Fraser River in Richmond on Sunday morning. RCMP are investigating the discovery, which was made at approximately 10:30 a.m. near Capstan Way and River Road. A number of marinas are located in the area as well as the two bridges." Homicide or suicide? Time will tell.

Metro Vancouver Snow - The Season has just begun - Update

I went snowshoeing on Seymour today up to First Peak. A meter of fresh snow at the base and two meters at the summit. Zero visibility but the local mountains are getting pounded with snow finally. The Okanagan mountains have much more consistent seasons. They don't get as much heavy dumps of fresh powder but they don't get the rain and snow alternating like we do either. So here on the West coast we take what we can get and right now surf is up.



Christmas Eve Update: Two meters of fresh snow in one week with no end in sight. That's the entire base. Three meters in total at the sumit. Avalanche warning is high. Great for skiers and snowboarders. I'm a snowshoer so I think I'll wait till some of the other weekend warriors break trail.

Ranj Singh - Simple Man

On a more positive note, I was at the Christmas Market at Arts Napps yesterday. I heard some Christmas music playing then looked up and saw it was live. A guy was playing guitar and singing. The sounds was profound. You know how some people when they talk they have a radio voice like they are or should be a radio host. Well this guy was meant to sing. I bought his CD called Simple Man and it's awesome. When you think about how the world is full of good and evil, this man is good. Talented as well as positive. His songs are all original. He is sincere, genuine, calm, peaceful, positive, uplifting and inspiring. I highly recommend him.

His CD makes for a great last minute Christmas gift and he also has digital downloads on Google Play as well as on Itunes and CD Baby. He even wrote a song called I Believe for the Vancouver Canucks and a seasonal song called Christmas Love. The album Simple Man starts off with Everything's OK. The sound is much better live an on the CD. The version of Found a Way Home is done with him on guitar and Dan Huget playing the electric violin. Profound. This is his web site.

Main Stream Media Censorship Part Two: Dan Rather and Gary Webb

Main Stream Media Censorship Part One was about media mergers, corporate mergers and how politicians as well as the media are lobbied by financial contributions from big business. Part Two is specifically about Dan Rather and Gary Webb.

Recently there was a movie made about the Dan Rather story called Truth. Wikipedia states: "Truth is a 2015 American political docudrama film written and directed by James Vanderbilt, in his directorial debut. It is based on American journalist and television news producer Mary Mapes' memoir Truth and Duty: The Press, the President and the Privilege of Power. The film focuses on the Killian documents controversy, and the resulting last days of news anchor Dan Rather and producer Mary Mapes at CBS News. It stars Cate Blanchett as Mapes and Robert Redford as Rather." Cinimablend reported that "One of the big premieres at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival was Truth." The headline of their article was Why CBS Doesn't Like Robert Redford's Dan Rather Movie. The sad thing is, the movie has been released but where is it? Like the movie about the Gary Webb story, most theatres aren't even showing it. It made news in Australia.

The sad reality is people don't care about the truth. In this article about media mergers and the possible demise of the National Post, one Canadian journalist from the CBC stated: "A lot of us in the business side of the media have been expecting bad news from the National Post chain for years. Can attaching itself to the Sun chain alter that? I, for one, never wished for the newspaper group's demise. One of my best friends works there. The media business is becoming a hit-motivated internet world, with news descending to the lowest common denominator equivalent of cat videos. But the Post chain has real reporters, digging for real original news." How true. The demise of investigative reporting isn't just because of Censorship from Corporate advertising. It's also because the consumers have become apathetic and are more worried about cat videos or movie stars love life than about anything that really matters. It is what it is.



Dan Rather was a very credible and well establish news reporter who was fired for reporting a true story about how George Bush got an elite assignment within the National Guard because of his father’s influence instead of going to Vietnam. On top of that he didn’t show up for a year. I remember the segment well. I was shocked at Dan Rather’s termination. It puts into question the freedom of the press. Dan Rather wrote a book about it called Rather Outspoken.



The Gary Webb story was similar but more profound. Gary Webb was an award winning investigative journalist that printed a series of articles claiming the CIA was responsible for the US Crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980's. The Agency fiercely denied it and embarked in a slander campaign against him. He ended up losing his job over it so he documented everything in a book called Dark Alliance. It is very factual and very compelling. I released my e-book on the 10th anniversary of his murder.

Gary Webb wasn't the first to claim the CIA had been smuggling cocaine into the United States to fund the Contra rebels in Nicaragua. The Kerry Committee had already established that. Gary Webb found the link to the cocaine the CIA brought into the US and a crack cocaine dealer named Freeway Ricky who has his own web site about the ordeal. After the publication of his book to support his series of articles and a public meeting drew out more witnesses, Gary Webb died of a suspicious suicide. He shot himself in the head twice. Jeremy Renner made a movie about the Gary Webb story called Kill the Messenger. Mike Rupert also died of a suspicious suicide.

The question remains, if the CIA were capable of discrediting Gary Webb and covering up their long term drug trafficking what else were they capable of doing? Operation Northwoods was real. We still need to address that fact. Is the press till free? I think not. Freedom never is.

Suspicious death in Maple Ridge

News 1130 is reporting that there was a suspicious death in Maple Ridge today and that the area around 216th and Lougheed has been shut down since about 4 a.m. IHIT is investigation the death.

Two Edmonton convenience store clerks shot dead in robberies - 2 nd Update

The National Post is reporting that two convenience store clerks at a Macs in Edmonton were shot dead during a robbery 3:30 AM Friday. Three male suspects are in custody, ages 26, 24 and 13. All have records and all are prohibited from possessing firearms.

Update: The Edmonton Journal is reporting that the two clerks who were shot dead were shot and two different Macs stores. Bizarre. Colton Steinhauer, 27, and Laylin Delorme, 24 as well as a 13 year old boy have each been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Update: The National Post is reporting that "The Honda Element that was used in the killings of two Edmonton Mac’s employees was stolen from a Sherwood Park home five days earlier, in a violent home invasion during which a woman says she was bound, choked, repeatedly hit and threatened with a sledgehammer."