Laura Szendrei's Father

I was going to write about the Laura Szendrei murder even though it had nothing to do with organized crime because it was so outrageous. A pretty young girl beaten to death in broad daylight for no reason. No enemies. No sexual assault. No sense.

Then we heard that Hells Angels showed up at the funeral in coulours and were caught on video racing through traffic in colours at high speeds. Whenever the Hells Angels do anything with colours on it raises red flags. No different than if the UN, Red Scorpions or Independent Soldiers were to attend a funeral in their gang colours.

Then we hear that not only does the father happen to have a few friends who are Hells Angels, he was photographed posing in East Van support gear. We all know that when people pose with Hells Angels or Hells Angels support gear on facebook, it has real meaning in the world of organized crime.

Now this picture is innocent enough. He's posing with his daughter for a photo with a few of her friends and happens to be wearing support gear. However, someone sent the Vancouver Province a photo which they posted in their printed edition, not on the web site which was very different.

In that photo he was standing above his daughter and some of her friends who were sitting at a table. He was clearly posing and showing off his support gear as he was scowling at the camera trying to look mean. It was somewhat bizarre. Why on earth would a grown man idolize an organized crime group and brag about it to a group of young girls. Strange indeed.

I can understand some of the outrage the vocal pr reps for the Hells Angels have expressed over speculation over their involvement in the murder. However, they have to accept responsibility for what the group they support does and the knee jerk reaction that group creates within the public whenever they parade around in colours trying to intimidate people.

If you want to go to a funeral to support a friend's loss then feel free. But don't wear gang colours at the funeral. That is disrespectful. Gangs do that as a sign of support implying that their gang will retaliate which in turn implies that the motive for the funeral was gang related.

Now I will admit, notwithstanding the Hells Angels presence at the funeral and the father posing in support gear, I think it is unlikely the Hells Angels were responsible for her murder. I think it's more likely they were trying to send a message to her murderer. Although I say unlikely, it's still very strange.

Did Hells Angels show up at Juel Stanton's funeral? I know they showed up at a UN funeral where they were accused of hiring someone to commit the murder. The Hells Angels are such compulsive liars it's hard to know what the truth is even on the rare occasion they may be telling it.

The bottom line is that this murder is yet another local tragedy. Losing a child to murder is horrible. Someone knows something. If you know anything about Laura Szendrei’s murder, Geoff Meisner’s murder or Lindsay Buziak’s murder, please contact the police or call Crimestoppers at 1 800 222-8477.

Suspect arrested in Laura Szendrei's murder

Newspaperman assaulted by police trial

Well we've heard the story. Three drunk off duty police officers attacked a newspaper deliveryman in Vancouver and assaulted him. Now the case is coming to trial.

I was initially concerned the Delta cop wasn't charged at all when all along the claim was all three police officers beat him. The cab driver confirmed the two cops he gave a ride to jumped out of his cab and helped the other off duty cop on scene beat down the man who pleaded for them to stop.

This is the kind of thing that tarnishes the police and weakens public trust.

100 Kg of Cocaine seized in Kelowna

Well police announced at the press conference they seized 100 kg of cocaine in Kelowna. Indeed that's more than the 9 kg seized from David Giles and his associates and the 52 kg in Glen Hehn's storage locker but not as much as the 275 kg recently seized in Vancouver or the 2 1/2 tons from a boat bound for the Hells Angels. The 100 kg seizure is the largest in Kelowna. Just goes to show how large that 2 1/2 ton shipment was.

Two locals from West Kelowna were arrested and of course someone from Surrey had to be involved. I am a bit confused about the Mexican cartel connection though. On the news it said the cocaine came from Argentina and flew to Miami then to Vancouver. It would appear that it bypassed Mexico completely.

Although a Mexican was among those arrested, people from Argentina don't like to be called Mexicans. In fact no one in Latin America does. MS 13 were from El Salvador. Mexico think Argentina are snobs and Argentina think Mexican are second class citizens of Latin America. It's a shame really.

No word on what gang was bringing in the cocaine. Again. I find that odd. Drug busts in Victoria today too. Maybe CSIS is throwing the dog a few bones so Richard Barszczewski's contacts keep their job during contract negotiations.

Carol James' Leadership

Well there appears to be some minor rumblings over Carol James' leadership. That reminds me of when Gordon slime ball Campbell stole the party from Gordon Wilson. Gordon Wilson was the one who put the party on the map. Before the televised debate with him, Rita Johnston and Mike Harcourt, the BC liberals simply didn't exist.

During the debate Rita Johnston was insulting Harcourt's manhood while Harcourt just stood there with an American Express card and a BC Care Card. They were bickering back and forth while Gordon Wilson interjected "There you have it folks. Now you can all see first hand why we get absolutely nothing accomplished in Parliament." He was priceless. That debate put the liberal party on the map.

Then Gordon Wilson had an affair with one of his MPs Judi Tyabji and he lost the leadership of the party to which the evil opportunist Gordon Campbell jumped at. Gordon Wilson ended up marrying Judi Tyabji I might add. I thought he was way better than the drunk driver that replaced him.

Carol James is a trustworthy competent leader. I trust her more than I trust others in her party and a million times more that Gordon Campbell. I was disappointed she caved in to selfish belligerent members of her party over the pay raise. One git threatened to leave the party if she didn't cave in on supporting Campbell's second proposed pay raise and gold plated pension so she caved in to save the party. She should have given that guy the boot and voted against the pay raise and gold plated pension.

That's why I say I trust her more than the Gordon Campbell opportunists within her party. Bruce Ralston and Mike Farnworth are trustworthy but I think they support Carol. To me she epitomizes dignity and respect. Her mission is to restore dignity to the elderly and the oppressed and in so doing restore dignity to the disgraced province.

The same old stereotype is what scares people away from the NDP: the right claims the NDP will tax and spend us silly. Me thinks Gordon Campbell and Brian Mulroney did a fine job at that. It was refreshing to hear Bill Vandersalm speak at an anti HST rally in Vancouver. He spoke about the importance of education and other social programs and I shook my head and wondered if I was listening to the same Bill Vandersalm we had known.

Carol James spoke after him at the rally and thanked him for his support of the campaign against the HST and for his contribution to politics. She said he was the reason she got involved in politics when he started making dramatic cuts to education. I had a chuckle at that since I remember it well. The slogan from the teachers was "Stop Vanderlism."

When all is said and done, I'd be much more leery of endorsing a new opportunist leading the NDP in the next election. Carol James has earned the spot and has carried it with dignity and competence. She came to the Chris Mohan memorial mass in Surrey herself. Lets hope she retains the leadership bid in the party's leadership convention.

RCMP Contract up for Renewal in BC

I'm thrilled with the news of the recent large drug busts in Vancouver and Kelowna although I am skeptical about the timing. Large drug busts during contract negotiations with no known connection to local gangs. Suspicious.

Kash Heed is worried about RCMP accountability. Well isn't that ironic? What about his own accountability? Personally I don't see a Regional police force as the divine solution to all our problems. VPD and Delta PD have the same accountability problems the RCMP has.

Public accountability is the change that needs to be made not creating a new police force with no public accountability whatsoever.

Any policing changes coming from the Campbell government are suspect. They are the oxymoron of public accountability. Drunk driving charges now after two drinks instead of three? Brought in by a drunk driver himself who is railroading the HST against the democratic will of the people just like Brian Mulroney did with the GST?

Impound your vehicle for a week for speeding 40 k? Just because we have a provincial police force doesn’t mean it will be more publicly accountable. Not with the crooks we currently have in office.

The premier with the lowest approval rating in the country shouldn't be making any sweeping changes to anything other than himself. Kash Heed waving like some kind of hero standing next to Gordon Campbell while embroiled in his own scandal is somewhat bizarre. The RCMP has a noble history worth preserving. Only William Elliott in not the man to do it.

Kelowna Drug Bust tied to Mexico

Police announce they will reveal details about a large drug bust in Kelonwa tomorrow at a press conference which they say is tied to the Mexican cartel. Come on guys. We know the cocaine comes through Mexico but who was bringing it into the country? We all know who controls the drug trade in that retirement village.

East Van Town Hall Meeting

Speaking of Jim Chu, he just held a town hall meeting in East Van at the Carnegie centre in response to the sit in and public protests about the investigation surrounding Ashley Nicole Machiskinic's death. Activists claim she was pushed out of a hotel window and was murdered for a drug debt. They were calling on police to take her death seriously and the mistreatment of women in East Van.

Sounds like the police took a lot of heat at the meeting and locals expressed great concern over public trust in the police there. Jim Chu urged residents to work with police to end violence against women by reporting crime.

However, Daisy Kler of Vancouver Rape Relief said more than 70 per cent of women who contact the women's shelter never call police because they are afraid they will not be believed or have had a previous bad experience with police.

"Arrest the men doing violence against women," she urged Chu. Which is kind of hard if people don't report crime or give information to the police. Yet if there is no public trust, that's just not going to happen. Thus the dilemma.

Another woman, who lives in the Europe Hotel, shouted at the police chief as she recalled seeing a woman recently abducted by a man late at night but police refused to take her complaint, even though she had a licence plate number.

Jim Chu holding the town hall meeting was a good thing. Especially when local activists in the sit in were calling for a meeting with him specifically. That means they trust him.

The pushing to the ground of the disabled woman by an officer in East Van seems to be the tip of the iceberg. Many complain that police there treat the locals like garbage. Obviously if they report a crime and nothing is done about it, that is going to weaken public trust and discourage crime reported.

Some say that is a city hall initiative. I heard reports of police officers express their concerns that city hall started closing down the police station at night to suppress crime stats. That's kind of like closing down an emergency ward of a hospital at night.

Locals also expressed concern about the presence of Wally Oppal at the meeting and his appointment to investigate the Pickton inquiry. "I do not support you being the head of the commission," Radek told Oppal. "You didn't support us when we called for a public inquiry." She suggested Oppal is using the inquiry to boost his pension income.

I for one certainly didn't think he was a good choice to lead the inquiry. He was a former judge who publicly declared the judicial system in BC was fine and was soundly defeated in his re election bid. Public perception is he's a good choice to oversea the Pickton inquiry if the government wants to cover something up. Maybe he can oversea the Kash Heed scandal as well.

The whole meeting reminds me of an all candidates meeting that was held at First United during the civic election when the Woodwards Squat was on. Many locals expressed many concerns. One candidate expressed her concern over an NPA policy of having the police evict homeless from under bridges in the city. She thought that was cruel.

One of the people who had been evicted from under a bridge spoke and expressed his concern about having all his personal possessions stolen by the police as he was evicted. I cited the practice and asked where this police brutality will take us as a society. One candidate who was a former police officer got defensive and started to back pedal as he talked about the many accusations of the police assaulting members of the community in East Van.

I explained I wasn't taking about assaults when I was referring to police brutality. I was referring to the cruel practice of evicting homeless from under bridges and stealing their few personal possessions in a time when record budget cuts had seen a record number of homeless on the street. I said that practice was cruel and brutal then asked where will that kind of brutality take us as a society?

That was the year when the NPA was wiped out and COPE won a landslide under the leadership of Larry Campbell, Vancouver's own Da vinci. Although things greatly improved temporarily, some things went in the wrong direction and the over all situation has got worse. The Four Pillars program was about four pillars not one. Every time extremists from VANDU cited the four pillars they over emphasised the harm reduction pillar and ignored the other three pillars in the program.

The four pillars consist of Prevention, Treatment, Enforcement and Harm Reduction. Extremists completely ignore the enforcement and completely erase that one. All they do is scream harm reduction over and over again like spoilt brats demanding every drug under the sun at taxpayers expense. One officer referred to the program as the one legged horse. Four pillars will not support a building or a program if you only use one pillar. It’s like only using one oar in a boat designed for four. You just keep going in circles.

I'll tell ya what harm reduction is. Harm reduction is removing all the crack dealers from an area where addicts are seeking treatment for drug addiction. When an addict is seeking treatment and everywhere they go they have dealers in their face crying Crack Crack Crack like possessed ducks from an Alfred Hitchcock movie then that addict can't recover or have effective treatment.

We need to get over ourselves and stop suppressing crime statistics by making crime difficult to report in East Van. Reopening the police station at night would help. We need to end the brutality towards the homeless and we need to stop caving in to VANDU and start enforcing the drug laws that do exist by arresting the drug dealers outside the Carnagie centre (and Surrey Central). We need to stop kicking the cat and arrest the drug dealers not the drug addicts. They are the ones throwing women out of windows in East Van. That kind of violence needs to stop.

Spotlight on Prince George

One of the peanuts from the peanut gallery has repeatedly objected to my "obsession" with the Hells Angels. Well let's stop for a minute and look at the facts that we have on hand. Let's take a look at Prince George. We are told that no one sells drugs in Prince George without the Hells Angels permission.

The Hells Angels have a puppet club in Prince George called the Renegades. The Renegades were in turn in charge of the Crew who sold crack for the Hells Angels just like the Zig Zag crew did.

Only after the Crew started getting some bad press for cutting off fingers for drug debts many members of the crew crossed over to join the Independent Soldiers. Who as we know are not independent any more and are tied to Randy Naicker and Larry Amero of the Hells Angels. So in essence the crew crossing over to the Independent Soldiers was just a publicity stunt as the Hells Angles were still ultimately in charge.

It should then come as no surprise that the Crew, acting under the banner of the Independent Soldiers, have maintained their ruthless debt collecting tactics of hacking off fingers for drug debts. Yet their "rivals," the Game Tight Soldiers are also tied to the Hells Angels. Steven King, the leader of the Game Tight Soldiers was seen wearing a Renegades rocker riding with a Renegades patch member. So clearly the Hells Angels are tied to both groups and still run the drug trade in Prince George.

So when we hear of people dying in Prince George over drugs or getting their fingers cut off for drug debts or found chained in the basement of a crack house in Prince George getting tortured for drugs debts, clearly the Hells Angels are ultimately responsible and financially benefit from it.

That leads us to the nest question. If the Hells Angels run the drug trade in Prince George and are ultimately responsible for the drug related violence there, what about Dawson creek?

That's close to Prince George and we have been hearing sad tales of drug related violence there from people who claimed the Hells Angels were involved. Since the Hells Angels run the drug trade in Prince George logic would dictate they would be prime suspects for the drug trade in Dawson creek and the drug related violence there.

Then we have to ask, if the Hells Angels control the drug trade in Prince George and quite possibly Dawson creek as well, where else to they do business? We know the East Vancouver chapter are actively involved in Kelowna as that appears to be their retirement village. What about Ontario. We know the Hells Angels in Ontario were primarily involved in the drug trade. In fact their business was a violent bid to take over the drug trade in smaller towns once they were established in the larger cities.

Here's the obvious one. If the Hells Angels control the drug trade in Prince George and if the East Vancouver chapter has expanded into Kelowna, what about East Vancouver? Who runs the drug trade in East Van? If the Hells Angels are so determined to violently take over the drug trade in smaller towns, how can the East Vancouver chapter not control the drug trade in East Vancouver?

Perhaps some of the residents of Prince George will be empowered by the Gang task force's presence and their upcoming Gang Summit. Perhaps Dawson Creek will be the next stop on the tour. Hopefully some more tips start coming in so the cause of the violence can be dealt with.

Jim Chu saves the day

We all know the police have taken a few PR shots over the last few years. The most obvious one was the RCMP taser incident at the airport. What a tragedy. Obviously it was a mistake. Personally I have a problem with police getting a guy on the ground then tasering him over and over again while they already have him down. I would deem that to be a miss use of the weapon.

Nevertheless, we know the VPD have taken a few hits as well. Beating up the wrong guy when they responded to a domestic dispute comes to mind. The young cop that was caught selling pot on duty is another yet the RCMP just caught one of theirs for possession of pot. For me the cop pushing the disabled woman to the ground was the real shocker.

So here we have Jim Chu front and centre problem solving like he does so well. In response to the provincial government's proposed model for an Independent Investigation Office he has called for a greater role by a civilian body to investigate alleged crimes by police. I agree. Any appointed body is met with cynicism. Especially the new appointment to the RCMP. I think an increased role of a civilian body would be a healthy balance and help restore or build public trust.

No right to lawyer during interrogation

I'm going to have to process this one but it's another example of the courts interpreting the charter of rights instead of the people. The court specifically noted Canadians do not have the same rights as Americans do during interrogations.

They claim the charter right to speak with a lawyer upon arrest doesn't mean the lawyer has to be present during the entire interrogation which is sometimes a very long process. I'm not sure what my position on the matter is off hand other than the observation that it means people have more rights in America than in Canada which I'm not sure I'm comfortable with.

I guess that's why the Americans torture people on foreign soil. I guess that means Canada won't have to send people to Afghanistan or Sudan to be tortured. Now they can do it right here. Hey maybe they'll move Guantanamo Bay to Canada.

275 Kg Cocaine Seized in Vancouver

Police seized 275 kilograms of cocaine in a recent Vancouver drug bust. Well that's more than the 9 kilograms of cocaine seized from David Giles and his associates Revell and Rempel. It's also more than the 52 kilograms of cocaine seized from Glen Hehn and his associates Ewan Lilford.

But it wasn't as much as the 2 1/2 tons of Hells Angels cocaine seized. No charges were laid in that case thanks to Richard Barszczewski.

And it wasn't as much as the ton of cocaine seized in Port Hardy. Interesting that the really large cocaine busts are never tied to a criminal organization. Much.

Another Haney Hells Angel dead

Jose Gonzalez was a member of the Haney Hells Angels. On June 22, 1999, charges of extortion against East End member John Virgil Punko and Haney member Jose Gonzalez were dropped by the Crown after its key witness - the owner of a Richmond seafood company - refused to return from his native Japan to testify.

Gonzalez... that's a name found in El Salvador and in Honduras... In fact, that's the same last name as a guy who was charged in that recent large cocaine bust in Vancouver - Eduardo Gonzalez. No relation of course.

Well all of a sudden Jose's dead. He died a sudden death on October 1 2010. Some say it was a suicide. Others are skeptical. He's not the first Haney Hells Angel to have died a sudden death.

Ernie Ozolins, who had just left the Haney Hells Angels, was gunned down on June 2, 1997, along with girlfriend Lisa Chamberlain at Ozolins' s West Vancouver house. The murder remains unsolved.

Rick (Blackie) Burgess, Haney Hells Angel, vanished on Jan. 7, 2002. He was declared legally dead in 2004, but his disappearance has not been solved.

Ross Douglas McLellan, 59, a key member of the Hells Angels chapter in Haney, "died of natural causes" on an airline flight to Maui in December of 2006.

April 2007 Haney Hells Angel Vincenzo James Sanssalone of Maple Ridge was caught with 600 litres of GHB Date Rape Drug. Mark Figuereo, a Hells angels associate in Ontario was sentenced to 6 years in prison for selling date rape drug for the Hells Angels.

Ashley Machiskinic's murder

Wow. Ashley Machiskinic fell to her death from a hotel room in East Vancouver on September 15 2010. Friends, relatives and advocates are calling it a murder. They claim she was pushed out the window by drug dealers to send a message to other addicts who don't pay their debts.

She landed on her back which is suspicious. One witness claims the person threw her shoes out the window after she fell which would also imply she was thrown out.

A vigil was held for her yesterday and a few protesters occupied the VPD office and wouldn't leave because the police claimed it was a suicide and weren't investigating the case further like the Pickton murders. The protesters were arrested for trespassing.

Obviously people are upset. For good reason. Finally women's groups and First Nation groups are rallying together and speaking out. "Women get their heads shaved for a $30 drug debt, they're killed for $50," said Carol Martin of the Downtown East side Women's Centre. Gee what does VANDU say about that?

That sounds an awful lot like what's happening in Prince George where people will have fingers cut off for a drug debt and have been found chained in the basement of crack houses tortured for drug debts. The article claims that Honduran and Salvadoran dealers, doing a brisk trade Thursday just after "welfare Wednesday," boast of profits as high as $15,000 a month. Their collection methods, if they front a woman drugs that she uses or loses, can be brutal. However, we have learned that in Prince George it's not the Honduran and Salvadoran dealers that are doing the same thing. It's someone else.

"There's been a few women lately thrown out of windows, at the Balmoral, the Regent, women missing fingers, wearing wigs because their heads have been shaved," said Gladys Radek, organizer of the annual Walk 4 Justice in support of missing and murdered women in Vancouver and along the Highway of Tears.

Obviously the police can't do much if people are too afraid to testify. Yet closing the file and saying it was a suicide would be premature at this point. It clearly looks like Vancouver is having similar problems as Prince George with ruthless drug dealers and the suppliers of the two cities may well be connected. Let's face it we all know who supplies the crack for East Van.

Maurice Boucher made Gregory Wooley a member of the Rockers and used him to supply cocaine to the Syndicate or the Crips in Montreal on behalf of the Hells Angels.

Growing public outcry for the mistreatment of addicts is a good thing. The response of the New York model would be to stop letting them sell crack in public at Main and Hastings at the Carnage centre. That would be the first step. Getting people to provide more information to the police as to what's really going on would be another. Arrest the dealers not the addicts.



DTES activist knows of six women thrown out windows over drug debts in East Vancouver over the last two years.

This new article admits that "MacDougall said she doesn't know who killed Machiskinic, but people in the DTES are afraid to tell police investigating her death what they know." So common sense says that if people are afraid to tell police what they know, then we can't blame the police for not making an arrest.

Activists wanting to speak with Jim Chu is a good thing but we need to be leery of activists who just want to fight with the police for any reason they can find. The police aren't perfect but we can't blame them for everything either. We need to start reporting what these drug dealers are doing so arrests can be made. Reporting an abusive drug dealer to the police is not being a rat.

Jammin 4 Jay

Speaking of speeding and reckless driving, I met a guy with a wrecked car. He was speaking out against speeding. The car he had with him was totalled. The front end and the driver side was mangled. The driver had died in the accident. It was his son.

He has a fascinating story to tell. His son was speeding, lost control of his car on a hidden turn, scraped a pole then hit a tree. He was trapped in the car for quite some time before rescue workers were able to get him out. The father arrived at the scene and spoke with his son while they were trying to free him from the vehicle. He waited with his son at the hospital where he was bumped for emergency surgery because they wouldn't send a second anaesthesiologist and died waiting.

It is a powerful and tragic story. The father tours and speaks to high school students about the dangers of speeding. At the hospital the father asked his son if he had learned his lesson about speeding. His son said yes. He asked his son if he would come with him to speak to youth about the dangers of speeding and he said as soon as you wheel me out the front door I'll do it. Unfortunately, they wheeled him out the back door because he was dead. So the father has his sons ashes in the car when he speaks about the event. Very powerful. His sons runners are still trapped in the drivers compartment because they were unable to get them out.

Relating this to our recent event of reckless driving I'd have to say that there's a big difference between opening a motorcycle up on the freeway in a straightaway away from traffic and weaving in and out of traffic in a construction zone. The latter is just plain irresponsible because it puts others at risk. It's the kind of thing a young kid would do not a grown man. It doesn't display the wisdom and maturity of a seasoned biker. The other biker who lost his life and the life of his passenger last Saturday because he was glaring at a kid who didn't see him was also tragic. Those kinds of losses are senseless. It's not the kind of thing a grown man would brag about.

Anyways the father has a web site called Jammin4Jay and is well worth visiting. He's a powerful speaker and has an excellent presentation for schools and youth.

Bobby Cocks

Is this guy's name for real? OK I'm gonna bite my tongue on the name thing and raise two points. Here's a guy who finally looks like he could be a biker. Someone got all bent out of shape when I said Bob Green didn't look like a biker he looked like a businessman. They said he wears leather and has tattoos. I said having tattoos doesn't make you a biker. Bob Green looks like a businessman. Sure he could dress up like a biker but that doesn't make him one.

This other guy finally looks like he could be a biker. He doesn't look like the type of guy that would have a huge fairing or a pink princess seat on his bike. He looks like he might even ride a hard tail. Maybe a pan head or a shovel head. Something that drips with class. None of these brand new bikes that look like a Goldwing. I doubt he wears sneakers when he rides.

He looks like a noble old timer yet I can still see some of the boy in him. Part of him that idolizes the big red machine and covets respect and honour.



Someone thought the patch member in the photo was his son. If that's the case then I'd have to say good on him. Not for having a son in the Hells Angels but for having a son and being a father. The side rocker says nomads and the crest says Nor Cal. Surely that wouldn't be Northern California. It is a BC patch.

Nomads Northern California is where Otis Garret was from. They ran the love nest brothel in San Fransisco and murdered Margo Compton and her twin seven year old daughters. That is nothing to be proud of. That is like proudly wearing a patch that says I love Clifford Olsen.

Yet Bobby Cocks is using that lame I love Clifford Olsen photo for his profile picture on facebook.



So he's telling the world the throttlelockers are affiliated with the Hells Angels just like the Zig Zag Crew were. I wonder how much that endorsement costs each month? We know the Zig Zag crew had to pay dues to maintain the Hells Angels endorsement.



We were told that the Bobbsey twins collected dues from the Zig Zag crew and told them to get legitimate jobs if they were having a hard time paying up. We know that the Zig Zag crew sold crack for the Hells Angels and that the dues were for protection against rival drug dealers.

So what if the Throttlelockers don't sell drugs? What if they just want to ride and be affiliated? How much does that affiliation cost? When Vinnie toothless was caught with papers connecting the Hells Angels to the Jesters and the Outcasts, some argued that there was no real connection between the two groups. They were just asking permission from the Hells Angels to wear their logos.

Permission? Why does anyone need permission from the Hells Angels to wear their patch? Isn't that like giving a bully your lunch money in school? Either way it is clear the Throttlelockers are connected to the Hells Angels just like the Zig Zag crew were. Selling drugs is nothing to brag about. Neither is bragging about paying the Hells Angels for protection. That's kinda lame actually.

So what if the Throttlelockers don't sell drugs? Why on earth are they kissing Hells Angels ass? That's what looks so sad. Take away the Hells Angels and Bobby Cocks looks like a biker. Take away his Throttlelocker patch and he still looks like a biker. He has his honour and respect without having to buy it from the Hells Angels who lost it.



So what happens if the Throttlelockers stop paying dues to the Hells Angels? Will they lose their endorsement? Will the Hells Angels start hacking off fingers? The Throttlelockers can ride, camp and hang out without wearing any patch and without any permission from the Hells Angels. Groveling diminishes them.

Toronto Shopkeeper makes Citizens Arrest

Well here's another bizarre one. A Toronto Shopkeeper catches someone stealing from him and makes a citizens arrest. Simple enough. Well not exactly. The shopkeeper was charged with assault and unlawful confinement. I kid you not. This ranks right up with the joke about how if someone breaks into your home in Canada and they slip on something in the process, they can sue you for damages. You have just entered the Twilight Zone.

One media outlet reported that the concern was to make a citizen's arrest you have to catch someone in the act and the shop keeper caught the guy an hour later when he returned to the store. That's nonsense. To make a citizen's arrest you have to see the person commit the crime. If someone comes up to you and says that guy just stole my wallet, if you didn't see it, you can't make a citizen's arrest. There's no one hour golden time limit.

In Canada when you make a citizen's arrest you can only hold the person until the police arrive. You can't haul him off and drag him to the police station like you can in the US with the era of bounty hunters. That might be part of the problem. Seemingly the shopkeeper tied the guy up with rope and put him in the back of his car. I suppose this would depend on how far away the car was and if he detained the guy in the back seat of his car or his trunk.

Either way, charging this guy is insane. Can you imagine if he received a worse sentence than the person who stole from him? Wouldn't that make Canada a joke. Initially he was charged with assault with a weapon because he had box cutters in his possession but those charges were later dropped. If the guy pulled out the box cutters and started cutting him up that would be different but to say that someone at work who happens to have box cutters in his possession can't make a citizens arrest is nonsense.

Liberal MP Joe Volpe is seizing the opportunity to propose a bill that would make citizens arrest easier. Yet the law already exists and it can't get any easier than it is. You have to see the person commit the crime. You have to tell him you are making a citizen's arrest and tell him what he is being arrested for. You can then hold him until the police come not drag him anywhere.

You also have to charter him which simply means you have to say "You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay? Do you understand?" If they say no you simply explain that means when the police arrive you have the right to ask to speak with a lawyer without a long wait.

At least it's not as bad as the Alberta farmer who caught someone stealing and hunted him down with guns and shot him. Yet giving criminals more rights than law biding citizens is crazy.

Two more sad tales

Well the first one is sad as in pathetic and the other one is sad as in misguided. Take a look at the bowling shoes this guy is wearing and the full face helmet. He must be a striker for the Kingpin crew.

The other one is the sad news of two motorcyclists who lost their lives Saturday. The motorcycle was driving alongside a pickup truck, driven by a 17-year-old man, when the teen started to change lanes towards the bike.

The Mounties say the truck corrected and didn't end up changing lanes, although the 51-year-old motorcycle driver pulled up beside the pickup and glared at the teen inside. The news release says during this exchange, the motorcycle driver didn't notice a curve in the road and crashed. The motorcycle driver and his 40-year-old female passenger, who were both from Nanaimo and wearing beanie-style helmets, died later in hospital.

Here's the tragedy. Likely the kid didn't see the motorcycle in his blind spot but stopped when he did see it. So the big bad biker has to make a big deal about it and start glaring at him when he should have been watching the road and has now lost his life and the life of his passenger over it.

The whole concept of motorcycle awareness is so that cars check their blind spots and be more aware of motorcycles on the road. Yet when you have grown men center lining and passing on the right, that throws the whole concept of motorcycle safety and awareness out the window. As does this huge chip on the shoulder intimidation syndrome that cost this motorcyclist his life.

Glaring at someone and not seeing a turn in the road really isn't very bright. There was another story on Castanet in Kelowna about a woman who tapped on the horn when a Hells angel cut her off. He went ballistic glaring at her, writing her plate number and spitting on her car. That's the lingering image the public has when the Hells Angels comers to mind and it really isn't a pretty or proud one.

Hells Angels motorcycles impounded for speeding

Well this is priceless. Two Hells Angels were caught racing through a construction zone at speeds up to 160 kilometres per hour and had their bikes impounded under the new legislation. At first I thought the new legislation was a bit extreme. Getting your car impounded for going 70 KM/H in a park zone with no people around is extreme. Ticketed by all means but car impounded? I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with that.

But 160 KM/H in a construction zone? Well that's a bit different. I have to chuckle to see who it is that got caught under the new legislation. Sure the bullies and murderers are going to play the pathetic victim again but the bottom line is, excessive speeding then driving like an as*shole weaving in and out of traffic on a motorcycle isn't something to be proud of.

Neither is using Hells Angels colours to intimidate others to let them break the law. That's being an irresponsible bully and an as*hole all wrapped up into one. That's how young kids on imports ride not grown men on real motorcycles. Mind you it's hard to tell what they're riding. With those big a*s fairings they look more like Goldwings than Harleys.

The Hells Angels aren't murderers? Well who killed Juel Stanton? Who killed Percy Soluk? Who supplies the cocaine for the Vancouver gang war? These b*tches are worse than snitches. What's with that pink passenger seat anyways? No wonder someone pushed the bike over in the video. Which nomad was the pink princess seat for?

The Notwithstanding clause of the Charter of Rights

When discussing some of the outrageous decisions coming from the courts of late, a reader quoted Section 33 of the charter of rights - the Notwithstanding clause and said that Parliament doesn't have to listen to the courts so don't blame the judges. Kinda sounds like something Wally Oppal would say.

Basically the clause states that the federal or a provincial government can create a law notwithstanding a provision in the Charter of rights which in essence means it can violate the Charter of Rights with a five year time limit which may be reenacted.

The Charter of Rights was created to replace the Bill of Rights which the courts interpreted to be a mere guideline. The intent of the Charter of Rights was to make the Bill of Rights unalienable rights so to speak.

Many provinces were concerned at the time about how it would significantly shift political power from elected legislatures to appointed courts. The Notwithstanding clause was subsequently added to the Charter as a means of alleviating these provincial concerns.

Although I agree with the concerns about shifting power from elected government to appointed courts, the whole idea of creating a Charter of Rights then creating a loop hole saying parliament can suspend the Charter seems like a contradiction. Seemingly the Bill of Rights in the US has no such exemption.

Eileen Mohan referred to our sacred charter and how criminals are using it against us so that the rights of criminals have become more important than the rights of law biding citizens. Steve Brown referred to the constitutional obligation to provide public safety.

Basic rights are nonnegotiable. Free speech is one of those rights. Lawful assembly is another. Freedom of religion is one as is the freedom not to be discriminated against for race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex or age. The right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure. The freedom from being arbitrarily imprisoned, the right to a fair trial, the need to be charged with an offence all are nonnegotiable rights just as mobility rights.

The concern is when a judge in a court of law misinterprets that charter to mean committing a criminal offense is a charter right. That is nonsense.

Section 467.13 of the code made it illegal for a member of a criminal organization to instruct someone else to commit an offence. Hells Angel defense lawyer Matthew Nathan successfully argued that section of the code was a violation of the charter. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Heather Holmes concluded the law was too broad and vague, and therefore violated the constitution. That is insane. That is the root of the problem.

We don't need a provision in the charter which lets the government violate the charter. We need a provision in law to uphold the charter when it is violated and misinterpreted by the courts. Freedom from cruel and unusual treatment or punishment is not negotiable. Do we really want to empower the government to suspend the laws banning torture because we have.

The double edged sword is simple. We want to protect citizens from giving governments too much power to violate basic human rights and we want to protect citizens from giving the courts too much power to violate collective rights and the constitutional obligation to provide public safety. Claiming it is a charter right to instruct someone to commit a crime on behalf of a criminal organization is insane.

Drug use is not a charter right. The court does not have the right to tell me I have to have a safe injection site in my neighbourhood and I have to pay for it with my tax dollars. The court does not have the right to tell me I have to have a safe inhalation site in my neighbourhood where people can smoke crack at the taxpayers expense. Our social programs would go bankrupt pretty fast not to mention our social values.

When the courts tell me human trafficking is a charter right then it's time to fix the courts not the charter. The charter of rights is fine. The judicial system is not. In the US judges are elected. Perhaps that is something we examine. Either way creating a mechanism to fire or replace bad judges who ignore public safety because big brother knows best is an immediate priority.

Hells Angels attended murdered B.C. teen's funeral

Well this is bizarre. I was going to write about the murder of Laura Szendrei because it seemed so random and tragic. She was a delta teen beaten to death in a park. Knowing I run a blog and web site about organized crime someone just sent me this new article claiming members of the Hells Angels attended the girl's funeral.

The police confirmed the Hells Angels attended the girl's funeral and said they were there to support Laura Szendrei's father. Brooks appeared uncomfortable with the question and refused to elaborate or say whether police are investigating any connection between the Hells Angels and the death.

Brooks told reporters that police have still not determined if the daylight attack on the teenager on Saturday was random or targeted. Sorry but I just find this bizarre simply because wherever the Hells Angels are, bad things happen.

Of course it's possible that the girls father had friends who were members of the Hells Angels and they simply wanted to show support for their friend. Yet somehow that just doesn't sit right. The Hells Angels are drug dealers deeply involved and primarily responsible for the Vancouver gang war. They have a history of threatening people's family. I wonder if Hells Angels attended Juel Stanton's funeral.