B.C. Mounties hunt for suspect in brutal sexual assault

Update: The suspect was found in Osoyoos and is now in police custody.

A Canada-wide warrant has been issued for David Wesley Bobbitt. Bobbitt operates Dave's Second Hand store in downtown Penticton, where a woman was allegedly confined, beaten and sexually assaulted for several hours in front of her young son. Let's find this guy before the Hells Angels patch him over for the Renegades. Penticton is where Stephen King was living before he skipped town.

Vendettas MC MB

Things have quietened down in Winnipeg. It's amazing what a few arrests will do. It's almost like it's only a handful of people perpetrating all the violence. Winnipeg recently saw a spike in gang violence after the Rock Machine and it's Shadow group the Vendettas MC started to fight back against the Hells angels and their support club the Redlined Support Crew.

Of course we find out that the violence started because the Hells angels killed one of their own to let the Village Idiots from Ontario take over the drug trade in Thompson, Manitoba. That betrayal understandably created some animosity. Now we hear one of the dingledorfs from the GTS in PG went to Winnipeg and crossed over. That's just a rumor floating around the net.

The GTS in Prince George are facing two charges of gang rape at the Renegades clubhouse. Renegades of course are a Hells angels puppet club in PG. Stevie Wonder wasn't on the list of members charged in the gang rape so he either skipped town or he wasn't involved so they can't say they kicked him out for committing rape. They're paying the other accused lawyers.

I had commented on how I thought the Rock Machine had a better logo than the Hells angels. An eagle head is way better than a helmeted skull with devil horns. So why does a Rock Machine support group go and put devil horns on their logo? Doesn't that look really juvenile? Then there's the secrets.

The biker war isn't a biker war it's a drug war. It has nothing to do with defending the honour of a fallen brother. It's just about fighting over the right to sell crack and that is really messed up. Legalizing everything won't stop the violence it will only make it impossible for the police to control because they won't be able to arrest anyone for selling crack. They'd just be able to give them a ticket if they were doing it without a license.

Legalizing crack is socially irresponsible. Handing out free crack pipes is socially irresponsible. Clayton Rouche, the founder of the UN showed loved for his brother by helping him over come his crack addiction. Getting off crack was a horrible experience but in hindsight James Coulter said: "Clay had a very big heart. I will never forget how he helped me get out of addiction. I will never forget - he put a lot of money and a lot of time into getting me clean; I didn’t really notice it at the time - how much love he was putting into me. But I do now.”

Stop the Insanity

The news of Vancouver handing out free crack pipes really has me riled. Harm reduction without the other three pillars is a one legged horse that goes nowhere. I mentioned the fact that Vancouver is handing out free crack pipes at work and one person asked why. They said they could understand why they have needle exchanges since people can get aids from a dirty needle but they couldn't understand why we would hand out free crack pipes.

Maybe it's because someone could get a cold from sharing a crack pipe. No doubt there are some diseases other than aids that crack users could get from sharing a dirty crack pipe yet the whole program is totally insane. Some doctor in a conflict of interest says it's a medical issue and that somehow overrides the democratic laws regarding illicit drugs. No it's not.

Giving an alcoholic alcohol is not in their best interest. Giving Amy Winehouse free crack pipes would not have been in her best interest. Compassion for the addict means we help them. It doesn't mean we hand out free guns to commit suicide with and then deny responsibility for murder because we didn't give them the bullets.

Judicial system

There are elements of our judicial system that need to change. Minimum sentences for violent crime like murder and drive by shootings involving innocent bystanders. Prolific offenders is another. There's an Aldergrove judicial lobbyist group that started over the issue of property crime. Crack addicts would steal from them and the more offenses they committed, the less time they swerved in jail. They printed up t-shirts that said "Revolving door makes judges accomplices."

The VPD put out a video talking about the problem of prolific offenders. A small number of prolific offenders committing a large percentage of crime with absolutely no consequences whatsoever. Most of these prolific offenders were stealing to support their addiction.

Locking a prolific offender who steals to support his addiction up in jail for three months is not excessive. It is in their best interest. I'm not saying we should arrest every crack addict for being an addict. I'm saying we should give a prolific offender who steals to support their addiction three months in jail away from the drug. We shouldn't be giving them free crack in jail. Some of these enabling programs are insane and humiliating. They are humiliating because they mean well but they are counter productive and are not compassionate at all.

Enforcement is one of the four pillars. Locking a crack addict in jail for three months who was caught selling crack is not excessive. It is a goal within reach. Arresting crack dealers for selling crack in public is the New York Model. It has proven effective.

The Hells angels are the ones profit ting from all this misery. It's time I start another web page that keeps track of all the drug convictions the Hells angels have been involved in. Collecting that jurisprudence so that the Hells angels as an organization get charged for hiring a murder of for selling crack is more effecting that locking their mules away in jail. All the happens is they find another mule while they are untouched by the law and continue to profit from murder and misery.

More free crack pipes for Vancouver

This shows how f*cked up our country is. We're going to cut funding for the RCMP and the Gang task force, raise taxes through the HST to pay for more prisons for nonviolent crimes like the possession of pot while we hand out free crack pipes at the taxpayers expense. Need I say more? This is so wrong.

Nanaimo got rid of the program but the special interest lobbyists brought it back. No wonder the police are frustrated. The law biding citizens are frustrated too because the politicians simply are not listening. The public sale of crack fuels the gang war and the violence associated with it. Handing out free crack pipes supports drug dealers pushing addicts out of windows in East Van for drug debts.

Enforcement, prevention and treatment are three other pillars the special interest spoilt brats completely ignore. They just scream harm reduction over and over again until we become complete enablers and our economy and tax revenue is sucked dry. Brilliant.

Bacchus Pride rally in Saint John

Speaking of Gay Pride, the Hells Angels are holding their own Bacchus Pride rally in Saint John this weekend. Three cheers for the Hells angels and the City of Saint John for publicly endorsing Bacchus Pride. We all know that Bacchus was indeed the patron saint of homosexuality.

The Fredericton police had warned council that the North Star Sports Bar Pub and Eatery had become a magnet for Bacchus and Hells Angels members. At least one Bacchus member, Ron Richard, denied allegations the club has plans to expand in Fredericton in an interview with the Daily Gleaner. He said members just enjoyed going to the pub to party and have a good time. Yeah right.

"We're just old men who like to party with strippers and Viagra. I'm sure their wives and children are thrilled about that. At what point were they planning on growing up?



So if the Rebels wore their colours at the North Star sports bar in Fredericton, and if the Hells Angels and Bacchus admitted they liked to party there, what does that say about their affiliation with the local Rebels?



So what affiliation is Rob and Mike Bubba McLaughlin aspiring to? Maybe Mike wants to trade in his faith for a 666 patch. Be careful what you wish for. You won't be independent after you sell your soul to the devil. Let's just hope they don't sell any more crack or crystal meth in town. No doubt they are under the watchful eye of the po po. Party on dudes.

Gay Pride in Vancouver

Well Gay Pride has been in the news with all the events leading up to the Pride Parade. It's become a huge corporate event. The Vancouver Province ran an article about a Kwantlen University professor and former Surrey North MP Candidate who simply expressed his opinion on twitter saying they should ban the Gay pride parade because of it's vulgar display of sexuality. Let's see how long he keeps his job.

This is where we need balance between the extremes. Obviously no one is going to ban the Vancouver Gay Pride Parade. It's too big of a corporate event. Yet everyone has the right to express their opinion and I think it's important to identify the concern he raised.

What two consenting adults do behind closed doors is no one's business but their own. Beating up someone for their sexual orientation is archaic. Yet do we really need the public display of promiscuity? The whole point of Gay Marriage is a strange controversy. People are going to be gay. Why then get all freaked out when a gay couple want to make a commitment to be faithful to each other?

Some extremists claim that the down fall of Rome was because of their acceptance of homosexuality. I beg to differ. I think it had more to do with their acceptance of promiscuity. I'd be interested in hearing what all these vocal opponents to gay marriage have to say about the TV series desperate housewives. In my opinion adultery is worse than a gay couple promising to be faithful to each other.

The point of the professor's rant was a concern about the public display of sexuality. Nudity, Lingerie, whips and chains, free condoms. Is this something we really want to bring our kids to? I'd certainly like to. I'd like it to be a family event. Some responded with the argument that the Pride Parade isn't for everyone implying that the sexuality really isn't intended for kids. Do we really need that aspect of it then? Let's clean it up so we can bring our kids instead of polarizing the community and thereby creating more division and hate and let's not fire this professor for expressing his opinion.

Top Libyan rebel slain by allied militia

I realize no one cares but this bombing of Libya thing sure has me confused. The latest news is that the head of the rebels along with his two top aids, who we are supporting, were assassinate by his own troops, who we are also supporting. Witnesses have said they were killed by fellow rebels after being taken into custody on suspicion of treason.

Meanwhile, NATO warplanes bombed three Libyan state TV satellite transmitters in Tripoli overnight. While mandated to enforce a no fly zone, NATO troops are bombing local TV stations restricting the freedom of speech. At what point did NATO change hats?

The whole mission is suspect from day one. First, go in to enforce a no fly zone to facilitate a cease fire and then immediately start bombing one side. Then it clearly becomes a war for oil as NATO help the rebels take a major oil production city.

My first concern was who are the rebels? We have no idea who we are supporting. Unlike Syria where unarmed civilians are being fired upon with live ammunition, the protesters in Libya took up arms against their government to which NATO rushed in to support.

Turns out that the Rebels were tied to Al-Qaeda. I suppose as long as they aren't left leaning like Gaddafi that's OK. Until they overthrow Gaddafi with our help and we then have to send in troops to overthrow them because they turn out to be another dictator.

Glad to hear that we are cutting funding for the RCMP and the Gang Task force and are facing more criminal convictions dropped because of a shortage of court funding so we can spend millions of tax dollars bombing a foreign in country because we want their oil. It's not like the oil companies will drop the price of gas for that blood money either so what's the point?

If we are going to rob Libya of their oil to get cheap gas one could at least rationalize that immoral act. Yet all the profits are going into the oil company's pocket. Tell ya what, instead of spending all that money bombing Libya let's just send all those tax dollars straight to the oil companies. That way we cut out the middle man and less people will die for a lie.

Jeff Oldford

Jeff Oldford is a person of interest in Kamploos. He was found guilty of theft in April 2008, charged with sexual assault in Dec 2010 and recently was charged with trafficking a controlled substance April 2011. One source claims he's the new leader of the Independent Soldiers in Kamloops.

16 years in prison for cocaine trafficking

Well this is a partial victory. Two men convicted of possession for the purpose of trafficking in connection with the largest cocaine bust in B.C. history have been sentenced to 16 years in prison. Actually second largest. The larges bust was the 2 1/2 tons of Hells angels cocaine that didn't result in any charges at all. Although it was destined for the BC Hells Angels, that boat was seized on the US side of the border so I guess they're not counting that one.

This goes back to that suspicious sailboat in Port Hardy where 1,000 kilograms of cocaine were seized. I say partial victory because the criminal organization that was involved with the shipment of that much cocaine wasn't even named.

We are left with two thoughts. Everyone knows what criminal organization I think was involved with that size of a shipment. The Jones Brother's indictment in the US cross border drug ring would support that hypothesis.

Yet the other thought is lengthy prison sentences. Will long prison sentences stop the crack epidemic in our towns and cities? No, but it's a good start. True, when people are killing each other in the gang war, if someone isn't deterred by the threat of death they will not be deterred by the threat of a long jail term. However, it does remove the feeling of invincibility a mule has when working for a large criminal organization like Robert Shannon was.

Unfortunately, the reality of the situation means that since the criminal organization was not named, they'll just find another mule. Which simply means we must continue to be vigilant in reporting organized crime to the police. Especially since Harper has cut funding for the RCMP and the Gang Task force.

Ecstasy case thrown out over charter violations

My first thought when reading the headline was another crackpot judge throwing out another gang related drug bust over a stupid technicality. Like the case where police when exercising a search warrant knocked on the front door but failed to knock on the back door too. Throwing out all that evidence over that technicality was absurd. Or setting Jon Bacon free after he was caught with two machines gun and a silencer.

However, this case is a little more complicated and warrants a discussion on the importance of the Charter and the right to be protected from unnecessary searches and seizures. Obviously that clause has many of us dealing with the violence of a drug related gang war frustrated.

Historically, the clause was added to the US Constitution after the founding fathers in the American revolution said they didn't want big brother meddling in their affairs all the time. The purpose of the clause was not to help organized crime. The purpose of the clause was to prevent us from becoming a police state like in a Communist country or under the Third Reich where citizens can be randomly searched at any time for any reason. It is easy to see how that could easily be exploited if the police simply wanted to harass someone for their religious or political beliefs.

Personally I think if you're a known gang member then that would suffice as just cause to randomly search that known gang member when they go out in public for drugs or guns. If you're a known gang member with a firearms ban then that would be just cause to randomly search that known gang member or their vehicle for firearms. Not in their home in the middle of the night. When they go out in public and threaten public safety.

The courts don't necessarily see it that way but I don't think we should change the Charter and water it down. The problem rises in what the police define as a gang member or a terrorist. If you are a Branch Dividian, does that make you a gang member or a terrorist? No it does not. What if you are a member of a trade union or a Muslim? Does that make you a terrorist or a risk to public safety? No it does not.

Protecting the charter is an important thing. Yet it is also important to remember the spirit of the Charter and the reason it was introduced. The purpose of the charter is not to protect organized crime it is to protect individuals right to freedom of association. Now that freedom of association does not include the right to commit crime or belong to a criminal organization and no, joining a bowling league or motorcycle club does not automatically mean criminal organization.

However, the case law has been long established that the Hells angels use the name and reputation of their organization to sell and protect people who sell drugs for them. It has become clear that the Hells Angels use puppet clubs to sell drugs and to commit crime for them. After it had been legally established that the hells angels are a criminal organization, their clubhouse was seized in Halifax. Changing the name of that clubhouse to Darksiders, Bacchus or Anarchy bikers does not removed the Hells angels criminal involvement and vested interest in that clubhouse.

We have seen televised fictional drama about police investigating large drug operations and how important timing is to make the bust. The comedy Bad Boys showed the police getting a search warrant in the middle of the night for an urgent application before the drugs were moved. Likely that was the intent of the police getting a telephone warrant from a court outside of their jurisdiction in the Richmond Ecstasy bust.

I have two points. First, the human ego is apparent. Judges and police are all human. They can and do sometimes become arrogant thinking they are god and the other organization is subordinate to them. As common as that seems, there is no place for arrogance or power struggles in law enforcement.

My other point is that in my opinion one of the most important reasons for requiring the police to get a search warrant is to see what kind of evidence the police have that would give them reason to believe drugs or firearms are in that locations. If the police are going to use dynamic entry with weapons drawn, then they better be sure they have the right house or the right suite number.

Not long ago we saw a case in Ontario where the police broke in with guns drawn and had the wrong house. In another case in Ontario SWAT had the wrong house and the tenant fired back thinking it was a home invasion. Getting a search warrant hopefully minimizes the number of mistakes of crashing down the wrong door.

I do think knocking on the door is important. My father always used to object to ERT wearing balaclavas. He'd say if some guy with an automatic weapon wearing army fatigues and a balaclava comes baning on my door yelling open up it's the police, I'm sure not going to open the door. I have no idea it's not a terrorist.

Stun grenades sure sounds excessive too, especially when they get the wrong house. I realize that when making a large drug bust surprise is important. Every extra minute they take in opening the door they could be poring the drugs down the sink or toilet. Yet the whole idea of the police having a search warrant thinking that gives them the right to break down your door without notice and start throwing stun grenades anywhere they want is disturbing.

Protection from unnecessary searches and seizures, protection from arbitrary arrest and detainment, the requirement to be charged with an offense for an arrest and the right to a fair and reasonably speedy trial are indeed important rights in a world where strange things are happening in our political climate. The Constitution and the charter of rights in the spirit of the intent they were framed are still important measuring sticks to safeguard democracy.

Ex-Hells Angel drops appeal

A former member of the Hells Angels who received an effective sentence of one day in jail for weapons offences has abandoned his sentence appeal. Well this is puzzling. The guy drops his one day appeal. No big deal there. Yet he is referred to as an ex Hells Angel.

Randy Potts always was a bit of a Potsie but now that he's been convicted he's referred to as an ex Hells Angel? What about his co accused John Punko? They wouldn't really kill one of their own just for getting caught doing the club's business?

Randy Potts was the guy who was beat up in Surrey and someone took his Hells angels colours. The Hells angels got upset so they told him to deal with it. Potsie ends up getting a police informant to shoot the guy that beat him up. Michael Plant ended up firing a couple rounds over the guys head and pretended the automatic weapon seized.

More Ottawa Police Brutality Allegations

Roxanne Carr alleges that Ottawa police officers broke her arm and wrist, banged her head against the floor and left her naked in a cell for hours after her arrest on Aug. 23, 2008. The incident was investigated by Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit, which found no wrongdoing by police.

After the charges were dropped the court ordered the video be released. Yet the video went missing and the replacement video was selective. The first clips shows he being partially hog tied. Her body in each clip seems almost lifeless so it would appear that any brutality had already happened.

What we do know is what was seen on the Stacy Bonds Ottawa police brutality video from September of 2008 14 days later involving one of the same officers.

Another blogger in Ottawa described another scene. I arrived at the corner of Bank and MacLaren this afternoon as three police officers were trying to put an unconscious, handcuffed woman into the back of a van. She looked like a rag doll. Then they changed their minds and laid her out on the sidewalk and sent for an ambulance.

In that case what I find disturbing is the police's bully tactics of preventing the public from talking photos. No doubt of the Rodney King video wasn't allowed to be taken, we never would have seen it. As police brutality rises the public do have the right to take photos and videos of suspected brutality.

Interesting to note that someone claiming to be Roxanne Carr made a post in that thread describing the events that led up to her arrest. She claims she was beaten to a pulp before she arrived at the police station. It was her room mate Devon Morgan who called the police. He was a military cop and also worked with the Ottawa Police and called one of his friends.

Obviously not all police are bad, yet increasingly we see arrogance rise and brutality increase. This needs to be kept in check by a civilian agency.

Rob Ford strikes again

Well Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is at it again. He was caught talking on his cell phone while driving and a mother told him to get off his cell. She claims he gave her and her daughter the finger. He denies giving he the finger but his office admits he was on his cell.

This is another one of Stephen Harper's drunk drivers. He had a dui charge in Florida and was caught with marijuana then came out to endorse Harper in the election. He admitted to lying about yelling and swearing at a couple while he was drunk at a hockey game in 2006.

The more I read about this guy them more it becomes clear he is a psychopath. Yes he is a fat f*ck. He looks like Java the hut. But that's no crime. The crime is being an abusive liar and that is what he is. He was charged with assaulting his wife. This is Team Harper. God help us.

Lonely Anarchy Biker looking for Love

Well if this doesn't break my achy breaky heart. Someone sent me a link to an add on craigslist Anarchy Biker Leo Galant posted claiming all he needs is one honest women to understand him. His add didn't say anything about selling crack or the anarchy bikers. It just says he's lonely in Montreal. Ah... c'est dommage.

Gang Related Issues

Just to recap, Winnipeg is under fire due to their mini gang war between the Hells angels and the Rock Machine. When the Hells angels killed one of their own to let the Ontario Hells angels take over the drug trade in Thompson Manitoba it created quite a rift in the omg community. Again.

Just for the record, the Kelowna cease pool has become a toxic wasteland because of the Hells angels not because of immigration. Kelowna still is a wonderful place. Yet people with Hells angels associations are still dying. Two Hells angels publicly beating a father to death with baseball bats and hammers has been the pinnacle of the depravity. The new strip bars with alleged Hells angels ties in that same community is an absolute offence. Sure it may be full of Russians. Tbarz is full of Indo Canadians. Randy Jones still owns it and it was still the central hub in a cross border cocaine ring according to a US indictment.

I'm also shocked and disappointed to hear people publicly denouncing multiculturalism and claiming it's socialist. A free and democratic society guarantees religious freedom. That means Jews are allowed to be Jews and Muslims are allowed to be Muslims. It does't exclusively apply to Christians.

A free and democratic society protects citizens from discrimination base on race, colour or creed. The founding fathers of the US constitution were not socialists.

When I stayed in New York many years ago, I used to rock the A train up to 155th street in Harlem. When I stayed in South Seattle I stayed in a predominantly African American community. When I stayed in London England I stayed in Brixton which is predominantly Caribbean. Locally, I have close friends who are from Trinidad. They used to hold Caribbean dances and on a couple of occasions asked me to work the door. I had no problem with doing so at all. The Caribbean community is wonderful. The only problem I had was with a white guy who came drunk and was spilling drinks and grabbing asses.

We need to think globally. The world is a big place with a huge population. Compared to the rest of the world population, Caucasians are the minority. It really concerns me that we seem to be taking a step backwards in time and promoting hate and division. Yeah I said hate because that's what it is. Ian Paisley was a paid minister and member of Parliament from Northern Ireland. He preached hate over the pulpit for a generation. That isn't what we need in Canada.

Although I respect and admire Jack Layton, I most certainly don't agree with him on every issue. He thinks we should legalize pot. I don't. I think we should decriminalize pot and prioritize going after the harder drugs like crack and crystal meth. I trust Layton a lot more than I trust Harper. Harper is just another Brian Mulroney. History has recorded Mulroney to be a liar and a fraud who scammed Canadian taxpayers out of a $2.1 million settlement based on a lie.

There are clearly some strange things happening in our political climate. Firing whistle blowers is wrong. Free speech, freedom of religion and freedom of association are fundamental principles in a free and democratic society. That's not socialism.

The Norway lunatic was not a Knights Templar

I just want to clarify that the Norway lunatic was not a Knights Templar. The Knights Templar is a charitable society like the Shriner's tied to Freemasonry. It is not mandated to murder Muslims, Socialists or children with left leaning political beliefs. Behring Breivik is a lone wolf psychopath violating copyright by using the Knights Templar name and logo for fraudulent purposes. Anyone can buy a logo on e-bay and misrepresent it.

It does appear that he was at one time a Freemason. Photos of him with his Freemason apron have been posted on the Internet. True it is a blue lodge apron symbolizing the 3rd degree of Freemasonry. Knights Templar would be one of the highest degrees of the York rite. Behring Breivik is not a member of the Knights Templar and has violated his masonic oaths by murdering innocent children. The Knights Templar are not mandated to murder Muslims or children who have left leaning political beliefs.

The movie Da Vinci code talks about the Knights Templar and claims the big secret was that Jesus was married before he was crucified. True or false, I personally don't see how that fact would radically impact Christianity. It would not change his claim to divinity at all. The Tomb Raider treasure hunt was fiction.

The point is, this crazed gunman was a lunatic. Some reports claim he was a Christian. We cannot then rightfully conclude that all Christians are crazed gunmen. That is not what Christianity teaches. To become a Shriner, you have to be a Freemason. These are noble men who raise money for children's hospitals. They don't shoot kids or commit murder.

Jack Layton battles new form of cancer

No, we're not talking about a new Harper policy. Jack Layton announced today that although his treatments for prostate cancer are doing very well, he has been diagnosed with a new form of cancer and is taking a leave of absence for treatment. He is hopeful he will be healthy enough to return when Parliament reconvenes in September.

I don't care about his politics. I admire him as a human being. The values he has and the vision he imparts is very inspiring. Indeed that kind of vision can and does inspire optimism. Chuck Cadman had cancer. That certainly isn't a sign of weakness. Look at Terry Fox. Indeed people with personal challenges can be very inspiring.

Our values include equality and love not division and hate. It's like comparing Carol James "Because everyone matters" with Gordon Campbell's drunk driving selfish indulgence. It means supporting Small Business and free enterprise. It doesn't mean multinational corporations have more power than elected governments as they launder the public purse.

The Rock Machine Down Under

Looks like the Rock Machine are involved in a similar conflict in Australia. Rock Machine president Paul Boof Samways had his tattoo parlor trashed after a previous arson attempt.

In Australia it's the Rebels not the Hells Angels who are fighting with the Rock Machine. The Rebels are affiliated with the Outlaws. Seems like the Rock Machine are having a hard time getting along with anyone.

The media reports that the arson attempt on Paul Samways' tattoo parlor happened after he testified against three Coffin Cheaters.

I have no problem with someone testifying against thieves, drug dealers or murderers. That's a civic duty. I have concerns when it's done to eliminate the competition so they can steal, sell drugs and commit murder themselves.

Standing up to the Hells Angels is a good thing but it's not a good thing if the reason you do it is so you can sell drugs and commit crime just like they do without having to give them a cut. That is rather pointless.

Nevertheless, in the Coffin Cheaters case, three coffin cheaters were accused of assaulting and stabbing bouncers with a knife after they were denied entrance to a bar with gang colours on. Samways testifying in that case is no act of treason.

The Great Divide

The Vancouver Sun ran a profound article about a civil war reenactment called North-South divide still runs deep. The civil war reenactments help open up the dramatic reality of the event. It was a huge struggle with a huge loss of life. One participant said there are lessons to be learned from the civil war.

"What is the lesson of Iraq and Afghanistan?" I ventured. "We shouldn't be there," Bishop said. "You got to read the book of history. He who doesn't remember history is destined to repeat it. Look what happened to the British. Look what happened to us in Iraq, and we were in cahoots all along with Saddam Hussein, that no-good son of a bitch."

Interesting analogy. I don't think the invasion of Iraq was wrong because it was a long and hard struggle with many casualties. I think it was wrong because it was based on a lie. Yes Saddam Husein was yet another CIA asset who was sold chemical weapons to use on Iran. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Bush said they had Weapons of Mass destruction. He was wrong. Then after all the carnage of a foreign invasion based on a proven lie, his final pep rally displayed a banner that said Mission Accomplished. Mission accomplished alright. The oil companies and Dick Cheney's Haliburton made a fortune which the American taxpayers are now paying for.

Afghanistan was different. If Bin Ladden really was responsible for 9/11 then something had to be done. Yet Bin Ladden was found in Pakistan not Afghanistan. The CIA confession video didn't even look like Bin Ladden. The third tower collapsing into it's own blueprint at free fall speed due to heat and fire is simply unscientific.

There were many irregularities that tainted the Afghan mission. Unicol was one. Not only was the Taliban trained by the CIA to fight the Russians, Unicol were wining and dining them over in Texas trying to win them over so the Taliban would give them the contract for the Central Asia gas pipeline through Afghanistan. Shortly after the Taliban ended up giving the contract for the oil pipeline to an Argentina firm named Bridas, Afghanistan was invaded and that decision was reversed.

The invasion of Iraq was just plain wrong and the war with Afghanistan became very confused and tainted. Handing over prisoners to be tortured and harvesting opium pretty much confirmed the mission went bad. Very bad.

Yet the article was about the historical civil war which it claims was over the issue of Slavery. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks that is what the war was about. I had always concurred with the brother from Boston who asked, who wants a Union with people who fought a war for the right to keep slaves?

I got in an argument with a biker from Tennessee who used the Southern flag as part of their logo and said it was racist. He claimed many Confederates fought in the civil war for independence not slavery. If that is true that would soften my heart towards the south. Yet the historical realities of the time are hard to deny.

The Irish had sympathy for the Abolition Movement. They opposed British occupation of Ireland and supported the American Revolution. Daniel O'Connell sent word to the Irish in America inviting them to support the end to slavery because it was a cause they as a people supported through their own struggles.

I personally, can't see any good in fighting a war for the right to keep slaves. If the south wanted to be independent then that's fair enough but slavery is nothing to boast about or endorse.

Oslo Tragedy

A Norwegian gunman disguised as a police officer beckoned his victims closer before shooting them one by one, claiming at least 84 lives, in a horrific killing spree on an idyllic island teeming with youths that has left this peaceful Nordic nation in mourning.

The island tragedy Friday unfolded hours after a massive explosion ripped through a high-rise building housing the prime minister's office, killing seven people in a scene some likened to the aftermath of 9/11.

The same man - a blond-blue eyed Norwegian with reported Christian fundamentalist, anti-Muslim views - is suspected in both attacks. His name is Anders Behring Breivik.

I had a close friend from Norway. He used to say he was born with skis on his feet. He had served in the military before I worked with him. I found him to be a very honest, trustworthy and hard working man. I am indeed shocked and saddened with the news of an individual fruit loop who has completely lost touch with reality.

I was shocked and concerned when I saw photos of him with a Freemason apron on. I was even more shocked and disappointed to see a bizarre video claiming to be from the Knights Templar calling for a new crusade to decimate cultural Marxism. The gunman opened fire on a youth retreat for young members of the labour party. He killed them for their political beliefs. That is not something St George would endorse.



I know this looks bad and it is bad. I want to clarify two things. Freemasons promise to keep their religious rituals secret. They don't promise to keep the crimes of other Freemasons secret. George Washington and Ben Franklin were Freemasons. They were good and noble men aspiring to something higher.

The Knights Templar, aside from being portrayed in the movie Da Vinci code, is the highest degree of Freemason in the York Right. Shriners are Freemasons. This individual's twisted view of Freemasonry is not what Freemasonry or the Knight Templar teach. He is a wacko who committed mass murder.

Perhaps this tragic event is a good lesson for all of us. Not all Muslims are terrorists just like not all Christians are crazed gunmen. The freedom of religion and the freedom of political affiliation are fundamental rights is a free and democratic society.

The young victims in this shooting spree were not Marxists, they were members of the Labour party. This is why Harper's name calling and labels are so offensive. The crazed gunman was a member of a right wing political party that campaigned against immigration.