Taking counsel from the Dalai Lama

I just picked up two new books: The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World by his holiness the Dalai Lama and Howard C. Cutter, MD and the pocket Dalai Lama compiled by Mary Craig.

I like the Dalai Lama. He's intelligent, positive and he's even a political activist. I support his cause. He's the kind of guy I'd sit down and listen to. One of the quotes from the pocket Dalai Lama states "I believe in justice and truth, without which there would be no basis for human hope." Gotta love that. I believe in justice and truth.

I also like the book The Art of Happiness in a Troubled World. I like the way it's written. You don't really picture a Zen master standing at a pulpit preaching a sermon. You'd picture him pointing the way to enlightenment. In this book, Howard C. Cutler, who is obviously educated, starts talking about subjects then asks the Dalai Lama for his insights which he gives. This is kind of what you would expect from a Zen master.

One of the sections of the book explores the causes of violence. It discusses the roots of violence and ways to overcome fear. I assume they threw that in because anger is a secondary emotion. We experience anger when he have been hurt or experience fear.

To control our anger we must face our fear.

Rocketman hits theatres May 31st

Rocketman, the movie about the life of Elton John, hits theatres on Friday, May 31. ET Canada is reporting that ""Rocketman earned rave reviews and a five-minute standing ovation at its recent premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, but the film's subject admits some scenes in the rock biopic have been uncomfortable to watch. In an interview with the Daily Telegraph (via the Daily Mail), Elton John says he was adamant that the film depict all aspects of his life, including his struggles with bulimia, drugs, mental health and even his own sexuality. "This is how my life was, and I didn't want to cover it and gloss it over," Sir Elton told the Telegraph. And it's difficult to watch because I thought, 'God, I don't want to go back there, thank God I came out of it.'"

Elton John said it was difficult to watch the scenes of his drug addiction but he wanted the movie to be truthful. He's just glad he came out of it. Exactly. Then why the hell would we spend so much money keeping people addicted? Harm promotion is the wrong answer to addiction.

Elton John & Taron Egerton: Rocket Man ~ Elton John: Candle in the Wind

Falun Gong Parade in Vancouver highlights China's Organ Harvesting of political prisoners

Minghui.org is reporting that "Falun Gong practitioners held a parade in downtown Vancouver on May 12, 2019. The parade route was about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) long and lasted nearly two hours." I'm sorry I missed it. I was there last year. This is a video of the parade in Vancouver someone else posted. There were similar parades in Montreal and Edmonton.



The Bleeding Edge ~ Ethan Gutmann's interview with Dr Ko ~ Letter from Masanjia

Gypsy moth spraying continues in North Surrey

The Foray 48B or BTK Ariel pesticide spraying of north Surrey continues. Thursday I saw and heard the plane go over my house 12 times between 5;00 AM and 6:00 AM on my way to work. Evidently they haven't killed enough song birds yet. BTK pesticide kills all moths, caterpillars and butterflies. It is not healthy for humans to breath. It also effects all other mammals that eat moths, caterpillars and butterflies including songbirds who feed caterpillars to their young.

Dr. Karen Bartlett with the UBC School of Population and Public Health has studied the pesticide. She says warnings to stay indoors during the spraying are fair, but not because it’s toxic. “Not so much because the chemical is terribly toxic, but it’s not good to inhale any foreign substance that you don’t need to. So staying inside with the windows and doors closed is a good idea,” says Bartlett, who was part of a study in the 1990s that looked into the effects of Foray 48B.

It's not harmful for humans is very different from it's not terribly toxic. I don't want to breath that on my way to work in the morning. The small traps on the ground are much more effective than blanketing everyone from the air with toxic pesticides. Don't worry. Next they'll try to figure out a way to inject the pesticide into the seeds. GMO yo. Until then the air will continue to be toxic.

Another act of Judicial Treason

The Canadian Press is reporting that "A court has ruled that British Columbia cannot restrict oil shipments through its borders in a decision that marks a win for the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and Alberta's efforts to get its resources to overseas markets. The province filed a constitutional reference question to the B.C. Court of Appeal that asked whether it had the authority to create a permitting regime for companies that wished to increase their flow of diluted bitumen. A five-judge panel agreed unanimously that the amendments to B.C.'s Environmental Management Act were not constitutional because they would interfere with the federal government's exclusive jurisdiction over interprovincial pipelines." That is obscene.

It's time for a judicial review because our justice system is clearly broken. They're basically saying we don't live in a democracy. They're saying that the people of British Columbia can elect a government but that government may not negotiate on their behalf and may not protect the environment. This is NAFTA Chapter 11 all over again. It's like saying if Alberta wants to dump toxic PCP chemical waste in BC, BC can't stop them if Ottawa agrees. That is wrong.

John Horgan asked Raging Rachel two simple questions. He expressed a concern about tanker traffic and asked how do we control the flow of tar sands bitumen if the tanker traffic becomes too congested with all our other ship traffic. She said you don't. She said we have no say in the amount of tanker traffic leaving our port. That is morally wrong.

John Horgan then asked what happens if there is a spill? Who pays for clean up? Raging Rachel said you do. We won't pay a dime. That is morally wrong. I was hoping a Conservative would have the sense to say we would split the cost of clean up. I was sadly mistaken. We cannot negotiate a trade agreement with those terms.

Pipelines already exist for tar sands bitumen to Chicago and Detroit. They don't want it any more because of the petroleum coke byproduct. Chicago and Detroit are allowed to say no but Vancouver is not? That is morally wrong. It's time for a judicial review.

So what does this decision mean? It means there is not a snowballs chance in hell that I'm voting for Andrew Scheer or Maxine Bernier. I'll vote for someone who is willing to recognize the validity of our concerns. That is what this decision means. Exposing Alberta's lies once and for all

Green Justice and Gangsters out support Surrey's Municipal police force

Doug McCallum was elected mayor of Surrey on a promise to get rid of the LRT and the RCMP, both of which I completely support. That' why I voted for him. Post Media propaganda has been opposed to both despite the election results. "There's a lot of anger going on here and the secrecy going on behind it," added Joseph Edwards, a retired 15-year veteran of the Surrey RCMP. "We don't think they are being truthful... Why is everything a secret?"

It's a secret because the RCMP and the MSM are trying to stop it from happening. We need to move past this. Surrey is the largest City in Canada that does not have it's own municipal police force. The campaign to keep the RCMP despite the election results shows how corrupt the RCMP still is. They have no desire whatsoever to investigate organized crime. They have no desire whatsoever to stop or restrict the Hells Angels drug trafficking in Surrey. They still watch the drug dealers come out of Shakerz to the Dell bowling alley and load the drug dealers on King George Hwy with drugs. They watch it happen without stopping it.

The Hells Angels have hired the Brother's Keepers to bring more violence to Surrey and the RCMP do nothing to stop the violence. They promote the violence by promoting the Hells Angels drug trafficking network. The RCMP have members of the Wolf Pack in the Witness Protection Program cashing in on the rat out your rivals program and give those members of the Wolf Pack police escorts while they sell cocaine. That needs to stop. This is why we need a municipal police force in Surrey. The RCMP refuse to listen to the citizens who pay their wages.

The RCMP class action sexual harassment suit is one thing. IHIT investigators sleeping with witnesses is another. Shooting hostages is yet another. The list goes on and on. Post Media News is corporate trash trying to brainwash taxpayers into promoting organized crime. I do not support either. That is why I support Doug McCallum. It's really a no brianer.

Overwhelming support for SkyTrain in Surrey and Langley

The Daily Hive is reporting that "There is a consensus amongst local residents in Surrey and Langley, and across the region, that SkyTrain is the right technology decision for the Fraser Highway rapid transit project between King George Station and Langley Centre. TransLink released the findings of the first stage of its public consultation for the proposed Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project, which received nearly 21,300 survey responses, with about 17,000 from residents in Surrey and Langley. The survey was conducted throughout April. This is the breakdown of support for the project as a continuous extension of the Expo Line:

Surrey – 82%

City of Langley – 90%

Township of Langley – 92%

Rest of Metro Vancouver – 84%

I guess Post Media Trash won't be reporting on that.

Finian on Religion

This post is my position on religion. It is the gospel according to Finian. Most people will skip over this post for obvious reasons. When we normally hear the term religion we think wingnut wack job freak. Religious extremism misses the point and scares normal people away for good reason.

Religion once played a large role in my life many years ago. Not so much anymore. Yet like Thomas Paine of old, I am still passionate about the freedom of religion. I believe in a free republic. That is what I believe in.

Although I distance myself from most people who call themselves Christian, I do believe in Christianity. I believe in the teachings of Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King who said "He who serves the poor served God" and "Anyone can be great because anyone can serve." Indeed, service to mankind is the true measure of greatness not material wealth.

Most religions contain the golden rule: "Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you." If everyone did that, this world would be a better place. Therefore, I submit that religion isn’t bad, how man distorts religion is.

My neighbors are Muslims form Syria. They are wonderful. Their children are adorable. There is nothing morally wrong with Ramadan. If you want to fast and pray then by all means, feel free. I had a good friend in Belfast who was Jewish and I worked on a kibbutz in Israel when I was young. I sympathize with the Jewish struggle for a homeland just like I sympathize with the Palestinian's struggle. Jerusalem O Jerusalem.

Without trying to offend everyone on the planet, I will share with you a heartfelt concern I have with two of the religious traditions history has given us. The first is the story of Abraham’s sacrifice which is held as an example by Muslims, Jews and Christians alike.

God commanded Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a human sacrifice to prove his devotion to God and somehow we all see that as a good thing. I must be missing something. Human sacrifice is never a good thing.

I realize that sacrifice was in similitude of God’s sacrifice of his son for the sins of the world but is it really. God didn’t kill Christ, someone else did. God knew what would happen to him but he didn’t do it. There’s a huge difference there. Letting your child go to war and die in battle is very different than killing your kid. One is honorable, the other is not.

The religious leaders at the time saw Christ as a troublemaker. They wanted him dead but he hadn’t done anything worthy of death. Some think that if Christ had come in our day, our religious leaders would crucify him all over again.

Josh McDowel wrote a book called Evidence demands a verdict which outlined the trial. Josh McDowel later wrote some other books hating on different religions and those I do not support but his book More than a Carpenter and Evidence demands a verdict I completely support.

All the witnesses contradicted each other. They had nothing on him. Until the end, where Christ convicted himself. They came right out and asked him Art thou the Christ? All he had to do was say nope and walk away but he didn’t. He looked them in the eye and said verily I say unto you before Abraham was I am. They snapped. He claimed to have been the one that spoke to Moses in the burning bush. That was either true or the most outrageous blasphemy ever uttered.

Let’s remember what the law said and who gave them that law. The law said that anyone guilty of blasphemy should be put to death. God gave them that law. So if Christ’s claim wasn’t true they were legally required to put him to death.

We have to move past hating on the Jews for killing Christ. They simply fulfilled the law that was given them. He was the one that gave them that law for God’s sake. His atonement was foreordained. It had to happen. It was part of the plan so to speak.

OK so now back to Abraham. Some people believe that Abraham was righteous but his father was wicked. His father was so wicked he tried to offer Abraham as a human sacrifice to a false God in Egypt when he was young. OK so my first point is, If Abraham’s father’s sacrifice was so evil, what made Abraham’s sacrifice so good? One was to a false God but the other was to a true God? Personally I don’t see the difference. In my opinion both were bad. It breeds fanaticism.

I understand that this life is a test but if God asked me to kill my kids I would say no. End of story. I failed that test but did I really? Failing that test is something I could live with. Passing that test is not. For me it's all about being able to live with yourself. Life is about making choices and living with the consequence of those choices good or bad.

The other religious tradition is the Passover. I respect that Jewish tradition. When I was on a kibbutz in Israel they had a special meal during Passover that reminded them of their hardships in Egypt and how God save them from bondage. At the time I asked one of the members of the kibbutz about it. I thought you said this was a non religious kibbutz. It is he replied. This is just part of our history. I respect that.

Celebrating setting slaves free is always a good thing. It’s just the actual Passover itself that I'm uncomfortable with. Moses was trying to convince Pharaoh to let the children of Israel free. No way he said. I need them to build my monuments.

Then came the plagues. There were flies, frogs and locust. Turning the water to blood. Yet Pharaoh was firm, no surrender until the Passover. On that pivotal night, the Jews were told to spread lamb’s blood on the doorstops of their home. Every home that was marked with the lamb's blood would be passed over by the destroying angel. In every house that wasn’t marked with lamb’s blood the first born son would die.

I respect the fact that the religious tradition celebrates the fact that their children were spared. I get it. Yet the other’s weren’t. I can’t celebrate killing kids even my enemies kids but that’s just me. That’s how I feel. So I have a few issues so I do.

Nevertheless, I am still passionate about the freedom of religion. I believe in a free republic. That is what I believe in. As I've said before, right now I lean towards Buddha who said "If you can, help others. If you can't help them, do no harm to them."

I shun religious extremism just as I shun evil. As Martin Luther King taught noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. I believe religious extremism is evil. That is why I shun it. However, religion isn’t bad, how man distorts religion is. Peace.

Ontario Hells Angel charged after 2 kilos of cocaine seized in Nova Scotia

The Chronicle Herald is reporting that "An Eastern Shore man has entered guilty pleas and an Ontario man is expected to follow suit next month in a drug case involving the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang. Paul Francis Monahan, 62, of Ostrea Lake, near Musquodoboit Harbour, pleaded guilty recently in Dartmouth provincial court to three charges: trafficking marijuana, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and conspiracy to possess proceeds of crime."

"Mark David Heickert, 50, of Orillia, Ont., faces the same conspiracy charges as Monahan, as well as one charge of breaching his release conditions by having contact with members of the Hells Angels or affiliated clubs. Police said Monahan is a hang-around member of the New Brunswick Nomads Hells Angels chapter and Heickert is a full-patch member of the Hells Angels chapter in Oshawa, Ont."

"Following a nine-month investigation that included undercover officers, RCMP executed search warrants in November 2017 at homes in Ostrea Lake and Orillia and the Hells Angels clubhouse in Musquodoboit Harbour. Officers allegedly seized two kilograms of cocaine, a sawed-off shotgun, a large quantity of cash, outlaw motorcycle gang paraphernalia."

Nova Scotia investigates Hells Angels drug trafficking, BC does not.

Abbotsford police incident causes house fire

The Abbotsford police department is reporting that "During followup for domestic invest #AbbyPD learned male was in the res breaching his no contact conditions with the vic. Home evacuated & male barricaded self. ERT & Negotiators called to assist. Male surrendered when fire started inside the res. Male arrested & invest continues." That's not exactly what happened.

I rode by the scene at Westerly Street on Southdale Crescent around 4:00 PM and spoke with two different witnesses who both heard and saw tear gas go off right before the fire started.

One witness who was outside at the time heard and saw the police discharge two flash grenades outside the front of the house. Then the witness heard popping in the rear of the house and I asked if there were more flash grenades. No, these were quite and they had smoke. This is what the other witness also saw. Then the smoke from the tear gas turned into black billowing smoke and the fire department soon showed up. Apparently the police set the house fire off with their tear gas. At least they didn't shoot the hostage this time.



Perhaps tear gas isn't the best choice for inside a wood framed house.

FIRE MARSHAL'S REPORT: Tear gas canister started deadly fire

TEAR GAS STARTED PHARMACY FIRE, REPORT SAYS

Deontay Wilder knocks out Dominic Breazeale in the 1st round

World heavyweight boxing is back in the spotlight as Deontay Wilder knocks out Dominic Breazeale in the first round. Forbes is reporting that Anthony Joshua knocked out Dominic Breazeale in the seventh round three years ago. Deontay Wilder did it in the first round. And it was ridiculously impressive.

Anthony Joshua has a lot of talent and a lot of class. He has a title defense against Andy Ruiz June 1st. The showdown between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder will be epic.