Saudi Arabia executes Shi'ite cleric

France 24 is reporting that "Angry crowds protesting at Saudi Arabia's execution of a top Shiite cleric hurled petrol bombs and stormed the kingdom's embassy in Tehran Saturday before being cleared out by police, ISNA news agency reported."

"The incident came hours after the announcement of the death of 56-year-old cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who had been a key figure in anti-government protests in the kingdom's oil-rich east. The execution prompted strong condemnation from Shiite-majority Iran and Iraq. Nimr, who spent more than a decade studying theology in Iran, was among a group of 47 Shiites and Sunnis executed Saturday on charges of terrorism."

New Mexican Mayor Killed

Newsweek is reporting that the newly installed mayor of the Mexican city of Temixco was killed on Saturday. "Gisela Mota formally took office with the new year on Friday. Mexico City newspaper EL Universal said she was attacked at her home by four armed gunmen. Several mayors were killed last year in Mexico, where armed gangs financed by the drugs trade control many local communities."

Kelowna drug bust

1130 News is reporting that police traced a shipment of 100 liters of a substance used to make GHB to a Kelowna home and seized a pill press on site that was contaminated with Fentanyl. A 22-year-old Kelowna woman and a 28-year-old West Kelowna man were arrested and are now facing several charges. BTW what the hell is this? Anyone recognize the two guys in the picture?

A Beautiful Day

Well Mother Teresa was right. Behind the dark clouds the sun really is shining after all. Last weekend I made it to the foot of First Peak on Seymour and there was zero visibility. It was a complete white out - fog, snow, wind. Today you could see for miles. Inversion was in effect. In the mountains you were above the clouds like in an airplane and it was warmer in the mountains than in the city. It was as U2 described a Beautiful Day.

2016: Looking Ahead

The morning breaks, the shadows flee, a new year has begun. I don't have a big reflection on 2015 this year. I guess the highlight of the year was my court case which I'm not allowed to talk about because a mutual release was entered into by both parties. A troll was trying to extort me into taking everything down so I dropped the Agent K and started using my real identity since it was all over the newspapers. Like I always said this blog was never about me it was about the cause.

The troll kept repeating that same old lie claiming my ex wife had run off with a member of the Hells Angels which was completely false and absolutely absurd. I was telling the truth when I said I started the web site and blog after I heard Eileen Mohan speak at Bear Creek Park. The false allegations were ridiculous. As I said previously slander serves it's purpose. It separates the wheat from the chaff. People who believe slander are idiots. Anyone with a brain can see through the slander. The archives is still there and I have kept a few relevant links on the new web site.

On a more positive note I would like to move forward and look at the new year with anticipation. The change that I have made on the blog is that I'm not reporting on inside scoops on criminal activity any more. If you have inside information on criminal activity, call the cops. My blog is to help people leave the gang life. The best way to leave the gang life is by not becoming a police informant. If you aren't a rival drug dealer, if you have paid your debts and aren't turning others in to get a reduced prison sentence, then you have a much greater chance of moving on with your life without getting shot. When one drug dealer retires there is a line up of others wanting to take his place. I will however, continue to comment on and link to gang news that is already in the papers.

Hiking, Snowshoeing and Kayaking around Vancouver

Shots fired in Surrey

The Surrey Now is reporting that multiple shots were fired at a home in the 9100-block of 138 A Street in Surrey at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning.

Hells Angels: Masters of War

This is a video clip of Ed Sheeran singing a Bob Dylan song called Masters of War. I think it is highly relevant to the Hells Angels involvement in the Vancouver Gang war.

"Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain. You fasten all the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion' As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud."

"Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul."

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.