Prostitution legalized in the Supreme Court

This is a rather strange one. I’d hardly call prostitution a charter right. If I’m not mistaken, prostitution wasn’t illegal, just public solicitation which appears to be upheld by the decision. Clearly what consenting adults do behind closed doors is their own business. The concern is the consenting adult’s part. All too often people are forced into prostitution, often underage girls and boys sadly enough. That is not legal.

Public prostitution on the street corner brings with it an array of social problems. All too often it is accompanied by drug addiction. Yet legalizing brothers is a concern when you’re talking about a crack addict chained to the bed who is paid in crack as was seen in a Montreal crack house. I have to agree that exploitation isn’t sexy.

So, if a woman is “allowed” to be a prostitute is she “allowed” to be self employed or does she have to work for the Hells Angels. Does this new order provide protection for woman who are forced to work for the Hells Angels or does it just make it even more difficult to protect those women from that kind of exploitation?

Although I totally oppose the courts over stepping their democratic boundaries, one interesting element of the decision states that prostitutes are allowed to hire body guards while exploitation by pimps is still illegal. Just how do then plan on preventing exploitation by pimps. The new order makes that almost impossible.

The interesting part is the right to hire body guards. Back in the day, before the Hells angels took over the prostitution in Vancouver, Enforcers used to protect the ladies of the evening. If a John mistreated one of the ladies, the enforcers would beat him up. When the Hells Angels took over the business, that practiced stopped and the number of sex trade workers that ended up disappearing increased exponentially.

We know that Otis Garret was convicted of hiring the murder of a mother and her twin seven year old daughters for testifying against him in a Prostitution trial. Otis was convicted of running a brothel in San Francisco for the Hells angels called the Love Nest. Since the Hells angels ran that brothel, how on earth does this new order protect women from being exploited by pimps like the Hells Angels?

We know that the court heard another US Hells angels forced a woman into prostitution. The court was told he said you work for me now. We know that after a horrific murder at the Surrey House of Horrors, the victims girlfriend was told she had to become a prostitute to repay her boyfriends debt. We all know what organized crime group supplied the Surrey House of Horrors with cocaine and profited from the atrocities that occurred therein. How does the new order prevent a crack house like the Surrey house of Horrors from returning under the guise of being a legalized brothel?

John van Dongen leaves BC Liberal caucus to join BC Conservatives

Wow. I knew they must have been a reason I liked that guy. I just wasn't comfortable with him in the Campbell's Collusion. Now he's with the BC Conservatives. There is an alternative to the Christy Crunch. The rising tide is revealed.

Van Dongen, the MLA for Abbotsford South and former solicitor general, rose in the legislature to blast the Liberal government for a lack of integrity, before announcing his defection. John Cummins, Leader of British Columbia's Conservatives, welcomed John van Dongen, MLA for Abbotsford South into the BC Conservative Party. “John van Dongen is a man of principle and integrity, and I am delighted that he has joined B.C.’s fastest-growing party," Cummins said in a news release.

Speaking of dissension within the ranks, provincial auditor-general John Doyle pointed to a lack of transparency about over $80 billion worth of B.C. government contracts in private-public-partnerships or P3s, ranging from independent power producers to construction of the new Port Mann Bridge.

Don't get me started on the Port Mann Bridge. First they were going to twin it. Made perfect sense. The current bridge is new and in great condition not like the Patella bridge which is literally falling apart. But no, Gordon Campbell wanted a King Ramses monument and decided to build one monster bridge at twice the cost. I suppose we shouldn't be surprised at the insider trading that huge over expenditure cost.

So instead of having two cost effective bridges side by side, they decided to build one monster bridge at twice the cost without any consultation with taxpayers whatsoever. Spending money to tear down a perfectly functional bridge is absurd. Now I here they are thinking of turning it into a park. They're going to turn the old bridge into a park. The insanity and fiscal irresponsibility just never ends.

Smart meter blamed for hike in bill

A home owner near the PNE saw a huge spike in his hydro bill after the Smart Meter was installed. Hydro claims it's not just Smart Meters but everyone who's experiencing a huge spike in their bills? That is supposed to make us feel better? These are gangsters committing a crime.

Just because Ontario is doing something doesn't mean we have to follow suit. They aren't happy with their Smart Meters and the TOD billing either.

Stop Smart Meters dot ca

Trevor Jones Indicted, now a US Fugitive

Freddy was right. Three key players in a multinational drug-smuggling operation with ties to B.C.'s Hells Angels were sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Jacob Burdick, 34, of Marysville, Wash., was sentenced to 12 years for directing the distribution of drugs and money from a warehouse in Kent, Wash.

A California couple, Michael Murphy, 62, and Pamela Marie Murphy, 58, of Penn Valley were sentenced to prison terms of 12 years and 18 months, respectively. Michael Murphy served as chief pilot in distributing B.C.-grown marijuana and cash across the U.S. to cities such as Chicago, St. Louis and Atlanta. He would collect money made from pot sales and return it to California to buy cocaine bound for B.C.

"The smuggling organization had ties to members of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang in British Columbia," the U.S. Department of Justice said. Judge John Coughenor highlighted the connection between the marijuana going south and the cocaine going north. "This [marijuana] is the commodity that is sold to generate cash to buy cocaine, which has done significant damage in Canada," the judge said.

A Canadian man, Trevor Alan Jones, has been indicted on several counts in the drug bust, along with several others. Jones, born in 1970 and now a fugitive in the U.S., is wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for conspiracy to distribute marijuana and cocaine in the western district of Washington state.

Jones, who goes by the alias "Red," is six-foot-one, weighs 220 pounds, has red hair and brown eyes. Rewards for his capture are available at the discretion of the U.S. Marshals Service. Through wiretaps, U.S. investigators determined the drug ring was transporting and distributing 450 to 1,000 kg of marijuana and 100 to 200 kg of cocaine every month for at least five years.

Trevor Jones has been indicted and is now a US fugitive? Wow!!! We remember they were implicated when the bust first happened. Court papers said Tbarz was the hub of the Canadian Operation. That would be owned by Trevor's brother Randy not Trevor. However, it might be in their mother's name now just like the web site. Who would put a strip bar in their mother's name anyways?

Trevor was the registered owner of Dank Energy Drinks a new and improved "Hemp" energy drink. Only "Trevor" used Randy's e-mail address to register that domain. I wonder if Randy will be on the red carpet at the next Juno's? No doubt his pal Russel Peters knows where he is. Good luck to ya Eggman. You are the Walrus now.

The Pig Farm

CTV put out an interesting documentary about Robert Pickton called The Pig Farm. It’s available on DVD and came out in 2010. It was well done in the sense that they tracked down and interviewed people who actually lived on the farm and it really showed how problematic the police investigation was.

There are a lot of wackos out there with criminal records of violence. The police had 40 to 100 suspects. A daunting task at the time with all the budget cuts. The problem was getting a search warrant. Police received a tip that one person who lived on the farm saw Willy in the barn with a dead woman hanging by a rope. When the police called her in to question her she adimatedly denied it so they couldn’t get a warrant.

They finally got a warrant when a former resident of the farm said there was an illegal weapon on the farm. That gave the police the right to enter the farm. That wasn’t until Feb 5 2002. They found women’s’ clothing, ID and an inhaler belonging to one of the missing women. That finally gave the police enough information to get a warrant to search the farm for bodies.

One resident of the farm claimed Willy asked him one night if he wanted to get a hooker. He claimed Willy said do you know what I do with hookers. He then pulled out handcuffs and a belt and told him he handcuffs them and strangles them. Two days later a couple of Willies friends came up to him and asked to speak with him in the trailer. There they confronting him claiming he stole from Willy and beat him up. He took that as a warning not to say anything about what Willy told him to the police. So he didn’t. He left and kept his mouth shut. Other people beating him up would also imply other people were involved in the murders.

Although it was informative, there were a few very crucial points completely left out. The documentary barely said a word about Willy’s brother Dave who also lived on the farm. It didn’t mention a word about the fact that Dave had been convicted of sexual assault on that same farm himself. They didn’t say a word about another accusation of sexual assault involving Dave when the woman claimed Dave tied her to the bed with bungee cords and tried to shove pills down her mouth. The police acknowledged on the stand that when they searched Dave’s room they did find bungee cords and pills just like the woman described but said just because someone is accused of a serious sexual assault doesn’t make them a murder. Rather bizarre not a word about that was mentioned in the documentary.

There wasn’t a word mentions about Dave association with the Hells Angels either. Nor was there a word mentioned about the Hells Angels grow op and illegal booze can on site. Strange how they didn’t mention a word about Piggy’s Palace in the documentary. That was pretty significant.

However, there were a series of very relevant statements made by friends and associates of Willy. “Every human is capable of killing. I just really don’t think that Willy could do it all on his own. To this day I’m still not sure what happened on that farm.”

“Do I think he acted alone? I think he acted alone most of the time but I don’t think he acted alone all of the time.” “I feel there are other people involved. There’s too much evidence point towards other people being involved.”
“Willy needs to go to jail for what Willy did. So if he’s guilty of X number of murders or DISPOSAL OF BODIES, he needs to go to jail for that. But if there’s other people involved, they need to go to jail for that, not Willy Pickton.

Perhaps that is the most relevant observation. The instructions the judge gave to the jury was that Robert Pickton could be convicted even if there were other people involved. Even if he wasn’t the main person involved. He could be convicted if he was simply an active participant. So what if other people were involved with murdering women on the farm and Willy helped dispose of the bodies? That needs to be addressed. We still haven’t heard which off duty police officers attended parties at Piggy’s Palace and why. Wally Oppals refusal to let anything about the Hells Angels involvement be discussed at the inquiry mocks the families and makes the inquiry meaningless.

Hummer parked in Handicapped spot

This is the epitome of greed. Hummers and SUVs have become popular choices among drug dealers because they are so expensive not many people can afford them. I have no idea why because SUVs are butt ugly. They aren’t sporty at all. They look like a soccer mom’s mini van. Hummers are so outrageously expensive they just aren’t worth it.

This photo of a hummer parked outside Costco in Kelowna is creating quite the stir on Castanet. A lot of people are understandably upset about it. People hate it when a disrespectful kid or young man parks in a handicapped stall just because they think they are better than everyone else. It is a prime example of greed. It’s disrespectful.

Some people tried to appease the anger by claiming the store wasn’t open but that wouldn’t make sense. If the store wasn’t open there would be many empty parking spots they could have parked in. The concern is a lack of respect for others. Like a young prick blasting his music with no regard for anyone else on the planet.

Or like an old prick who has loud pipes and intentionally guns it in a quiet neighborhood to piss off everyone else just because he has no regard and no respect for others. They say pride cometh before the fall. We can only hope. Time will tell. It always does.

Trade Unions and Greed

I’m not going to say a lot about trade unions other than there are good and bad unions just like there are good and bad people and politicians. The defining question we need to ask is are trade unions protecting us from corporate greed or are they themselves consumed in greed. Which is worse – a greedy corporation or a greedy union? They are both the same.

Right now there is a lot of polarization surrounding the teachers strike. The government should pay teachers a fair wage and allot money for education because education is important. No doubt. The government using the kids as political pawns in their campaign to slash budgets so they can keep giving themselves a raise is wrong.

Yet, in the real world, how much taxes we spend on education counter balances with how much money we spend on heath care and other government programs like police, fire as well as road and bridge construction. The money has to come from somewhere.

Likewise the union using the kids as pawns to get a bigger raise for their members is wrong too. Is your dispute really about class size or is it really about wages? Why did you choose to become a teacher in the first place? You’re only in grade 12 once. Cutting out extra circular activities in that crucial year will never be replaced. What if that extra curricular program is the only thing keeping a kid in school? Dropping the program and having that kid drop out of school would be a tragedy.

They say the company gets the union it deserves. If a company is ruthless in exploiting it’s employees, they usually get or create a militant union to counter balance that drive. Some of the most productive and profitable companies are ones that actually consider customer service and genuinely care about how they treat their employees.

Canadian Values

I’m going to make two posts that may seem off topic but do relate to the heart of confronting organized crime before I dive in to the Kelowna summer jam. Since blog posts usually get buried after they’re made, I’ve devoted a web page to keep track of the K Town OC. (Organized Crime in Kelowna)

The term Canadian Values is a term politicians often exploit to promote their own political party while trying to tear their opponent’s political party. Often politics is more about tearing something down then building someone up. The new attack adds against Bob Rae are a prime example.

The liberal party was wiped off the map last election. Yet the Harper government is so paranoid about them that they have issued new attack adds targeting their new leader no where near an election. Bob Rae rightly pointed out that the Harper governed just tears things down. They aren’t capable of building anything up.

Unfortunately, the Liberals have vowed to fight fire with fire and the resulting mess reminds me of that pivotal BC leadership debate between Mike Harcourt, Rita Johnston and Gordon Wilson.

Rita Johnston were fighting back and forth like cats and dogs. Rita Johnston was insulting everything possible about Mike Harcourt including his manhood. Mike Harcourt just stood there and smiled holding a BC Care Card in one hand and an American Express card in the other saying which do you really prefer? As the debate got heatred and Harcourt and Johnston were arguing back and forth, Gordon Wilson said “There you have if British Columbia. This is why nothing gets done in Victoria.” He stole the show.

Gordon Wilson, who’s party was previous nonexistent prior to that debate, stole the show. He was calm, intelligent and constructive. He gave voters a hopeful alternative. Unfortunately, his marriage to one of his MPs was scandalized and Gordon Campbell took over the party and sent it straight down the toilet. Gordon Wilson was hopeful. Gordon Campbell was not. One tried to build something up, the other succeeded in tearing it down.

Which brings us back to the term Canadian Values. Most Canadians have an image of what they feel is important and how they want to be viewed in the world’s eyes. When I think of Canadian Values I think of the Canadian General in Rwanda portrayed in the movie shake Hands with the devil. Canadians have been known for their peacekeeping efforts. Most Canadians want Canada to be peace keepers not war mongers or war profiteers

One of the values that most Canadians cherish is compassion. Compassion is not a bad thing. Christ had compassion. The good Samaritan had compassion. Even Meg Ryan who played a Canadian in the movie French Kiss had compassion.

Unfortunately politicians have tried to tarnish and scandalize the value of compassion. Linear thinking politicians try to related it to a left versus right debate. The right scandalizes compassion while calling it socialist. They claim we shouldn’t have compassion because that takes us down the road that leads to Communism. That is probably the most ironic statement in recorded history.

Hijacked Communism like we saw under Lenin, Stalin and East Berlin was known for it’s lack of compassion and lack of tolerance. It really wasn’t that much different from what hitler gave us in Fascism. Two different roads leading to the same place - dictatorship.

I really liked Carol James. She tried to restore dignity to British Columbia with the motto “Because everyone matters.” She cared about seniors getting exploited and shut out. It was a heart warming campaign that made you feel proud. It restored our dignity in ourselves and in our country. So do Jack Layton.

Jack Layton had been around as a politician for many years. No one really took him seriously because he was labeled as a left wing union loving socialist. They kept saying the NDP would tax and spend us dry when they were the ones that did exactly that with Mulroney style pork barrel politics. Brian Mulroney was not a good man. That is why the Reform party separated themselves from him. Stephen Harpers brought the party full circle into enduring the very insanity they originally sought to correct.

As people because disenfranchised with the corruption within the Liberals and the heartless intolerance and extremism within the Harper Government people started to take Jack Layton seriously and heard him out instead of listening to the silly stereotypes that not longer were believable.

Jack Layton came across as a friendly politician who really cared. Not just someone who kissed a baby on camera while holding a knife in his hand to stab voters in the back. Jack Layton personified his motto of love, compassion, hope and optimism. Those are all good values that most of us cherish.

Another politician who historically inspired us was Lester Pearson. He was a man who built things up. Her accomplished many great things as a result. I have heard it said by a Reformer of old that Old Age Pension was welfare for the aged. In one sense I can understand what he meant. OAP is separate from CPP. CPP is a pension that we all pay into. OAP is not. It’s just a top up that everyone gets when they reach 65.

Should someone who ism independently wealthy get OAP? That is a valid question. The problem is that many companies payed a better wage 20 years ago then they do now. Compare that to the skyrocketing cost of housing in the last 20 years and you see a huge discrepancy. That’s not even including the fact that most large corporations keep many employees as part time to reduce their wage increases and benefits.

Most seniors now are in the poverty range. Most retirement pension plans take the OAP and the CPP into consideration when they calculate their pay outs. Cutting the OAP from most seniors would have tragic results. However, to question whether or not the extreme rich should receive the OAP at all is a valid question.

The problem is that the heartless right gets it’s campaign donations form the extremely rich. If the Harper government was to submit legislation stopping the OAP for people with a certain amount of assets then those campaign contributors would complain.

I’m just trying to say that we should indeed remember the spirit of Jack Layton. Love, compassion, hope and optimism are good things. Rolling up are sleeves and working together to build a better country with a vision of Canadian values is a good thing. Attack adds that tear each other down is not.

Kelowna Summer Jam 2012

Word is there's going to be a lot of media attention on organized crime in Kelowna this summer. What with Brtiney Irving and Dain Phillips murder trial and all. Word is there's going to be a lot of heat in Kelowna this summer and I'm not talking about the sunshine. I'm talking about the Kelowna Summer Jam 2012. "If ya get jammed up don't mention my name." Much. Stay tuned, more to come. Much more. If you would like to participate in shedding the light on organized crime in Kelowna this summer, drop me a line. Cheers.

Woman killed at the Cobalt Hotel

Vancouver’s latest homicide at a rundown Downtown Eastside hotel has renewed calls for the city to clean the building up. A woman in her 30s was killed in the Cobalt Hotel in the 900-block of Main street early Monday. The woman reportedly was stabbed.

The victim was among three stabbed in a violent spree in the upper floor of the hotel at around 6 a.m. Police say the woman was found in critical condition inside the Cobalt, but are not releasing any further details. The Cobalt is known for its hard-to-house tenants, many of whom have serious drug and alcohol problems.

The Cobalt is owned by slum lords Pal and Gurdyal Sahota. Gurdyal Sahota was recently fined $115,000 under the Residential Tenancy Act for repeatedly allowing a Surrey property to fall into disrepair and dodging his responsibility to make the property livable. It was the first time an administrative penalty had been imposed under the act.

Tony Terezakis was a Hells Angels associate in East Vancouver who video taped himself beating drug addicts who owed money as he shouted Praise the Lord and spit in their face at the Cobalt and the American Hotel in East Vancouver. Gee, I wonder what organization is running the drug scene there now?

Greeks Trial: Witness describes how three gang members gunned down ‘informant’

The Vernon Greeks trial continues. They are the ones that had Hells Angels support gear. The Vancouver Province is reporting that the court heard the leader of the Greeks ordered the murder of a police informant.

Coke smuggler nabbed in SUV with 'SMUGLER' plate

The Vancouver Province is reporting about Jasmin Klair, the B.C. resident, was nabbed with 10 kilograms of cocaine at Smuggler's Inn in Blaine. I didn't realize the owner of the Inn was involved. That is tragic. They do a lot of good work for kids camps.

Gurjit Singh Sandhu, 24, Narinder Kaler, 25, and 20-year-old woman Jasmin Klair were arrested last December. Kim Bolan reported that Jasmin Klair (pictured above) told U.S. agents he needed to earn money to pay off a $325,000 debt he owed for losing 115 pounds of marijuana about 18 months earlier.

So are these part of the Dhure Dak Pak or did they owe the debt for the Marijuana to the Hells Angels? Either way they don't appear to be very bright. The sad thing is, if he lost 115 pounds of weed and 10 kilos of cocaine, he doesn't have long to live. Tragic indeed. Sometimes the easy money isn't that easy.

2 Years for sexual abuse

Graham James received a two-year prison sentence for sexually abusing ex-NHL star Theoren Fleury and Todd Holt, Fleury's younger cousin. Fleury and Holt said the decision was a national national travesty. They are absolutely right. This ties in with our earlier concerns about judicial arrogance.

Is the public really that stupid? D owe really need to be educated in the law and brainwashed by watered down jurisprudence until we come to understand that two years for sexually abusing two boys is a fair and equitable sentence? I think not. It's time the judges realize their arrogance and their refusal to be publicly accountable is in fact treason.

Fleury and Holt issued a joint statement about the decision:

"We know that childhood sexual abuse has reached epidemic proportions in our country," Holt said. "Graham James once again . . . spread his sickness right through the courts of Canada.

"He conned the judge with his 'poor me' and 'I regret' statements. His lawyer defended the indefensible, and he's been rewarded for doing so . . . Graham James is laughing all the way back to the life he's always led knowing that justice for him is but a blip on the radar."

I don't know if childhood sexual abuse is more prevalent now as oppose to 30 years ago but I do know it is heinous as is this "judgement."

In another case the Crown's appeal of a conditional sentence for a Surrey woman who exposed her three-year-old niece to scalding bathwater, leaving the little girl with extensive burns, has been dismissed.

The offences began on Oct. 21, 2007, when the accused severely shook the infant and then placed her in an over-hot bath for about 10 minutes. Three days latter the tot was taken to Children's Hospital. The girl had extensive burns and bruises to her body.

Sounds like this is the year of failure to defend the child. Canada has now officially de evolved into a backward nations with this glaring flawed system that mocks justice.

Guilty plea in the Guthrie McKay and Lisa Dudley murder

Big news in the Guthrie McKay and Lisa Dudley murder. Jack Douglas Woodruff plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and has been sentenced to life in prison.

We remember the tragic story well. Police described it as a targeted hit at the time. Police responded to a shots fired call but the person who called first called the non emergency number and said they weren't 100% sure it came from that house. As a result the officer didn't even get out of his car to investigate while Lisa lay wounded for days before she was found and eventually died.

Yes it was a tragedy but remember the police officer wasn't the one who shot her and her husband. People had contacted me and said Hells Angels attended some kind of fundraiser for their kids. That was somewhat strange. What did the Hells Angels have to do with this wonderful couple? Guthrie rode a sports bike not a Harley.

The news today reports that the husband was running a grow op and had been doing so for some time. So the question is, who was he running the grow op for? Is there a grow op in mission not run by the Hells angels? Don't they use violence to take over the grow ops in that area?

So if Guthrie was running a grow op for the Hells Angels, why would they shoot him? Was he told to go away on holidays and someone did a grow rip while he was gone? Was he shot by a rival? Unlikely. The rival(s) would have been taken care of. The real question that needs to be answered is what is the motive for the murder?

The court heard that Lisa Dudley, 37, was the target of the plan carried out on Sept. 18, 2008. Guthrie McKay, her boyfriend, was to be killed "if necessary," according to prosecutor Jodie Harris. Wood-ruff was designated in advance as the shooter. Sounds like an organized plan to me. Who ordered the hit and why?

The shooter, Woodruff dated Karen Batke of Surrey before she disappeared around February 2007. Now it turns out he has confessed to murdering Karen but won't be charged due to a lack of "evidence". He claims she attacked him with a baseball bat in a drug fueled rage. So far the only evidence is his word. Sad.

Cop cleared in fatal shooting

The Office of the Police Com-plaint Commissioner has ruled Vancouver police Const. Lee Chipperfield didn't use excessive force in killing Paul Boyd during a 911 call on Aug. 13, 2007. Only I disagree.

Resisting arrest is a serious offence. Yet the law and more importantly the moral obligation governing the use of force addresses the concept of reasonable force. If someone pushes someone, pulling out a gun and shooting them in the head would not be an example of reasonable force. That would clearly be excessive.

In this case the police respond to a 9/11 call. Thanks for doing that by the way. It can be a thankless job as we all know. When police arrived at the scene after receiving a report of an out of control man on Granville, they came across Boyd.

One officer, while seated in a police cruiser, was approached by Boyd, who appeared to be holding a hammer. The second officer drew his gun, and ordered Boyd to drop the hammer and get on the ground.

Boyd, 39, complied, but when approached by police jumped up and struck the officer several times with a bicycle chain. Attempts were made to stop Boyd, but he ran into the street, swinging the chain. Const. Lee Chipperfield, one of the officers at the scene, fired several shots from his service pistol, with a fatal shot hitting Boyd in the head. Boyd was suffering from bipolar disorder and hadn't taken his medication that night.

OK bipolar not taking his meds. The police had no way of knowing that nor does it excuse his conduct. It just puts it into the perspective of mental health. He put what the police thought was a hammer down. Then he ran into the street swinging a chain. Shooting him in the head is excessive. In that case the officer should have pulled out his truncheon, trapped the chain and broken disabled the suspects knee.

If he had a knife and was making stabbing motions at the public that would have been more serious but what ever happened to putting one in his leg? Why do we always have to go for the kill shot and put one in his head or chest. Guy with mental health issues swings a chain and gets shot in the head. Then someone tells us it OK because the officer didn't do anything wrong. It's not OK.

My Wild Albertan Rose

We've all heard of the term my wild Irish Rose. Well yesterday the wild rose party of Alberta made the news. Everyone was making fun of them for their silly bus(t). They said it was a mistake and everyone was saying if they can't get a bus right, how on earth are they going to get the government right should they get the job.

I have two points on the matter. First, I don't think it was a mistake. I think some male capitalist in the party thought it was a good idea. They thought it was an eye catcher. Kinda like writing the word sex discreetly in an ice cube advertising some form of alcohol.

Second, the Wild rose party are supposed to be VERY conservative. More Conservative and separate from the "Progressive Conservative" party. Progressive, regressive. Tomato tomato.

When an older lady from the party was asked about the bus fiasco she said "We need to focus on heath care and we need to focus on seniors. That's what we need to do." Did I hear her right? An ultra conservative talking about protecting health care and Seniors? Why that sounds more like a Traditional Conservative than a modern Neo Con.

They even appear to be concerned about changing the drunk driving laws from .08 to .05 which I agree is stupid. We want to stop drunk driving. The people who are obviously driving impaired. Yes some alcohol can impair your driving but seizing your car after two drinks is insane.

Alberta’s Wildrose Party has come up with a unique way of fermenting populist anger against the ruling Progressive Conservative party. Wildrose members have recently been spotted giving away drink coasters outside of local watering holes, to protest the province’s new drinking and driving law. One side of the coaster features a slash through the number “.05” with the text, “drink responsibly,” while the other side has a red line through the letters “PC” and reads, “vote responsibly.” A novel campaign tactic, to be sure.

The coasters refer to a recently passed law, which will penalize drivers who have a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .05, even though the legal limit under the Criminal Code is .08.

“We’ve done polling on this and we know that two to one Albertans don’t want the .05 legislation. They don’t like it,” said Wildrose MLA Rob Anderson. “They think it’s a gross abuse of government power. It infringes on people’s rights and it doesn’t go after the real problem on our streets, which is people who are well over the legal limit.”

They've done some polling have they? Now we know they don't have anything to do with the Harper government. The Harper government doesn't poll their constituents like the Reform Party. The Harper government spends money on attack adds to brain wash their constituents.

Harper's new attack adds against Bob Rae are a prime example. First, it isn't anywhere near and election. Second, Bob Rae's response was right on the money. He said the Harper Government only destroy things. they only tear things down. They are not capable of building anything constructive.

I'm not a fan of Bob Rae. I think the party made the wrong choice at the leadership convention. I think they should have elected Trudeau Jr. Yet I agree with his response to the Harper attack adds. Although I don't agree with the fight fire with fire approach. That is the same message.

Saint Patrick’s Day

I guess people were expecting I’d have something to say about saint paddy’s day this year. An old post I made about Ireland was getting a lot of traffic. For me Saint Patrick’s day is about a lot more than getting drunk. It’s about a cultural reflection. Two traditional songs that come to mind are A Nation Once Again and The Town I loved so Well. Both powerful and moving.

Scotland has the Saber dance where highland dancers dance with their arms and hands raised. Traditional Irish dancing on the other hand is with the hands at the sides symbolizing being in bondage to a foreign enemy.

The Harp is a traditional instrument of Ireland. There’s a lot of harp music out there that is nice but I find kind of lame and boring. Loreena McKennitt on the other hand is a Canadian harpist that breathes new life into that wonderful instrument rekindling the ancient with a voice and melody that glows.

I remember going to see a local band called Three Row Barley perform at the Rusty Gull in North Vancouver several years ago. I really enjoyed them. They were very good. One of the lead singers was from back east. Two songs that stood out were the Majestic Shannon and Get up you drunken Bastard.

When I was at the Vancouver Occupation I had my bogran and was talking with someone with a tin whistle. Someone came up to us and asked us where we were from. I said I’m from Surrey but they’re from the Holy Land. Oh, Israel they said. No, Ireland I answered. It depends on where you’re from as to what you consider holy. Yet this is our home now and that makes this land holy too.

Charges dropped in one of the Truro murder cases

Charges against one of the accused in the murder investigation of outlaw biker Randy Mersereau have been dropped by the Crown. Crown Attorney Shauna MacDonald made the unexpected announcement in provincial court in Truro this morning that two charges against Leslie Greenwood would not be proceeding.

He is also charged in the Windsor jurisdiction with first-degree murder in the September 2000 deaths of Mersereau's brother Barry and his common-law wife Nancy Christensen. Greenwood remains in custody on those charges.

Dean David Whynott, of 541 Truro Heights Rd., also had his charge of accessory after the fact withdrawn last year in provincial court. He was charged with assisting Jeffrey Lynds escape custody between Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, 1999, while knowing Lynds had killed fellow Hells Angel member Randy Mersereau. Mersereau’s body was discovered in a wooded area in North River in December 2010.

Jeff Lynds admitted to Randy's murder for the Hells angels but was not charged for that offense. He is said to have committed suicide in prison.

Outside the courtroom, after the charges had been dropped and Greenwood had been placed back in the holding cells, MacDonald said the ongoing criminal investigation in which five individuals are facing related charges prevented her from going into details.

“We have numerous accused and numerous charges involved in this operation and an investigation ongoing so I can’t comment a lot,” she said. “But we’ve had to do an assessment of when and where the best place to call evidence is in order to ensure accountability for everybody involved and at this time we felt it appropriate to withdraw these charges against Mr. Greenwood, bearing in mind he still stands charged with two first degree murder charges out of the Windsor jurisdiction.”

All this new information has us all wondering about Rusty Halls murder and his wife Ellen. Defence lawyer Al Begin said he too was surprised about the Crown’s change of heart when he was informed earlier in the week of the pending move. "First of all, I just want to put a stop to the rumour mill," he said, "there are no deals between Les Greenwood and the Crown." Time will tell.It always does.

Fatal stabbing a gang-related home invasion

There’s been more shootings in the Lower Mainland. The latest news is a couple of gang related home invasions. One was a stabbing in Fraser heights on Saint Paddy's Day. The other was on Feb. 26, when Kacey Rogers, 31, was shot dead in his home in the 14000-block Grosvenor Road in Surrey in what police said was a targeted attack linked to a home invasion.

10 human heads latest grisly find in Mexico's drug wars

Authorities in a town in Mexico's Guerrero state made a grisly discovery Sunday, finding 10 severed human heads near an open-air market, officials said. More gory gang related violence in Mexico.

We’ve talked about the extreme nature of the gang related violence in Mexico before and how it appears that their criminals have no respect for the sanctity of life. The violence keeps getting more and more deranged until one is forced to ask oneself who on earth are they trying to impress?

When someone commits a deranged act of criminal violence, that most certainly does not earn them the respect and admiration of the public. Fear yes, but respect and admiration, absolutely not. People don’t admire someone like Robert Pickton or whoever else was involved in the murder and mutilation of sex trade workers from the Downtown East Side. People don’t admire deranged murderers who hack up dead bodies just for kicks. People are repulsed by it. People question the metal stability of those who engage in it.

Ya gotta wonder, don’t these guys fear God? Life most assuredly does not end at death. Do they really think they can scare God? Why on earth would God be scared of these deranged criminals? They can’t even stand in his presence. Do they really think they can fool God? Do they think saying a couple of Hail Mary’s or a couple of Our Fathers will save them when they have committed a brutal murder? Do they think after they rape someone’s daughter and say Abracadabra, I believe in Jesus, that all will be well? Guess again. The devil knows who Jesus is and that knowledge doesn’t save him.

The bottom line is that we are free to make choices and we are accountable for the choices we make. If we have caused pain and suffering we will experience what we have done for ourselves. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes and no matter what we have done there is a road back to redemption, but it isn’t as simple as some people think. When we start to glorify deranged acts of brutal violence, then we are asking for eternal justice to stop us from digging ourselves a bottomless pit.

I remember being back in Ireland many years ago. I was in a town called Limerick in a strong IRA area. It was actually a branch of the IRA called the INLA. I was sitting down having a heart to heart with a guy who claimed he was a mercenary and was just back from Lebanon. He talked about the violence and how he witnessed someone take the lord’s name in vain and someone else blew his head off because he thought the guy was religious.

I said to the guy, have you ever thought about a career change? He was a bit surprised by the question and said like what? I said gee I dunno, farming maybe? To my surprise he sighed and got all sincere. He said I thought about farming. My father’s a farmer, my brother’s a farmer. I tried it but it just wasn’t for me. Then I thought to myself I can’t believe I’m having this conversation. This guys two choices for career plans was being a farmer or being a mercenary?! Isn’t there something else in between those two extremes he could try?

Then I think about the brutal violence in Mexico and I say God help them. Not just the good, God fearing people of Mexico but the deranged criminals who are begging to be wiped off the face of the earth by committing those deranged acts. God help them because their time is short. They don’t have to wait for some far off judgment. Some other gang will give them a taste of their own medicine long before that. Sometimes justice isn’t so slow. Buyer Beware. As ye so, so shall ye reap. Word.

One group appears to be willing to call a ceasefire for the Pope's visit. Nice, but not nice enough.