Rogue US Solder killed 16 civilians

Another bizarre tragedy in Afghanistan. A rogue US solder snaps. He went AWOL and killed 16 civilians including nine children. Words cannot convey how strange and how sad this event really is. Why on earth would he do that? Obviously he snapped but to kill allies, civilians at that, clearly is treason.

There should be a fair trial but this is not a civil matter. It is a military matter. It should be determined if there really was just one shooter or multiple shooters. If found guilty then they should face the firing squad. Sorry if that sounds extreme but that kind of treason in a time of war puts all of his fellow soldiers at risk not to mention the outrageousness of the atrocity all on it's own.

Justice is not possible. There is no way to bring back the lost loved ones. Some might argue that 16 Americans should be executed not just one, to which I respond, which ones? 15 random Americans should be lined up and murdered? That would not be just. It would perpetuate the injustice until we are all blind.

If one person committed murder than that person should be put to death, not 15 random people. Clearly something went wrong that needs to be addressed. There was a rogue shooter at a US Army Base in the States. Instead of shooting fellow soldiers or fellow students at school, this lunatic shot foreign civilians. Equally shameful.

Without minimizing the atrociousness of the tragic event, I will add that the Taliban have also murdered many more than 16 civilians in many of their suicide attacks. We should recognize the seriousness of the tragedy and remember the enemy has done worse. That in no way minimizes what this solder has done. It just reminds us that there isn't one good guy and one bad guy in this conflict. Mistakes are made but evil does perpetuate and we are morally bound to resist it.

Suicide attacks kill 20

Bombing toll hits 78 dead

Taliban bomber kills nine people

12 dead in three Afghanistan bomb attacks

As for the tragic situation in Afghanistan, I will note that the current president who would not be president if the allies hadn't invaded, just endorsed a law that allows husbands to beat their wives and forbids women from leaving home without a male escort. That is not the sign of an enlightened moral nation. It is an extremist defiantly bragging about being a neanderthal. That has nothing to do with God or Islam.

It makes us wonder why we went to Afghanistan in the first place. A mission isn't wrong because it's hard or because there are many casualties. If Bin Ladden was responsible for 9/11 then it would have been the right thing to do. I just don't believe Bin Ladden was responsible for 9/11. I think the invasion was really about reversing the Taliban's decision to give the contract for the Central Asia gas pipeline to an Argentina firm named Bridas instead of the UNICOL.

Letting girls attend school is a basic right in a civilized society. Yet returning Afghanistan into the world largest producers of Opium after it was almost completely shut down has been a tragic bi product of the invasion.

More Mexican drug violence

More violent drug related murders in Mexico. These dismembered bodies belong to four youth ranging in age from 14 to 21 in school. There have been a few series run recently about the drug related violence at the hands of the cartels in Mexico. All the images are disturbingly graphic. I realize that when someone gets shot they bleed. I just don’t understand every time we see a picture of a shooting in Mexico that there is so much blood involved.

I keep talking about the sanctity of life. Obviously, when the greed of cocaine trafficking takes over, there is no respect for life at all. It’s all about pouring blood on the golden calf of the almighty dollar. It’s even more disturbing when it involves youth.

Stratfor on Wikileaks

WikiLeaks has announced they have released millions of confidential e-mails from Texas based intelligence firm Stratfor which provides intel for large corporations. I’m not a big fan of releasing confidential military documents that reveal the position of your troops to the enemy as that clearly is treason. Yet exposing wrong doing is a civic duty. Especially when it involves quasi military organizations funded by large corporations that are committing invasive atrocities and trample the Constitution.

Kony Con 2012

I am told the Kony videos have gone viral on Twitter. I don’t know much about the situation other than it’s not new, he’s not as much of a threat as he once was and that the opposition fund raising to oppose him have been accused of committing the same atrocities they dramatically accuse him of committing.

The one thing I do know is that US troops have moved in and pushed him out of the country. Which in itself is somewhat surprising because after the likes of Sudan and Rwanda, the West don’t normally care about atrocities in Africa unless they have oil.

Guess what. They have oil. That makes the presence of US troops suspicious. It’s like those Farmed Salmon commercials. Two guys are having a conversation at the office. One turns to the other and whispers that he just received an e-mail saying someone is trying to get a million dollars into the country and that if he gives them a thousand dollars and his bank info, they will deposit it right into his bank account.

The other guys says, hey I got one of those e-mails too. Instead of saying hey this might be a scam, they smile and say, we’re both gonna be rich. It’s a humorous commercial concluding that we shouldn’t believe everything we hear. We need to use our brain and think because scams are unfolding all around us.

Joseph Kony is not in Uganda and hasn't been for six years. The LRA is not in Uganda but now operates in the DRC, South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The Ugandan military has been accused of committing the very same atrocities of murder and sexual trafficking that Invisible Children works to end. Invisible children? That sounds a lot like another front, the Children's Defense Fund.

Russians protest against Putin and voter fraud

There have been a lot of demonstrations in Russia these days filled with allegations of voter fraud. Vladimir Putin has admitted there were violations of electoral law during his recent presidential-election win but brushed off claims of a 10-per-cent boost to his vote, saying the malpractice was too insignificant to influence the result.

This is rather bizarre. Putin admits rigging but sluffs it off by claiming it is insignificant. Vote rigging is significant. It is illegal and immoral. Back in the day, dictators would rise and oppress the people. Now the snakes in the grass enter from within and steal democracy through fraud. Buyer beware. Our freedom is still at stake.

More than 500 protesters jailed by Russian police

Police said they arrested 250 people in Moscow and 300 in St. Petersburg after moving in roughly to break up rallies claiming that Sunday's polls were rigged.
Some 20,000 anti-Putin protesters had turned out in Pushkin Square in central Moscow chanting "Russia Yes! Putin No!" Most of the rally dispersed peacefully but police moved in to disperse hundreds of people who refused to leave the square.

Canada unwelcoming to apartheid heroes

On the subject of racism, there’s a concerning article of the front page of the Epoch Times. It claims Canada unwelcoming to apartheid heroes. Seemingly there is an effective visitor visa ban on members of the apartheid-era African National Congress (ANC).

The ban seems to be related to criminal convictions handed down by apartheid South African government for membership in the ANC, which was outlawed for decades in South Africa.

OK let me get this straight. We all remember apartheid. That was when a corrupt group of racist pigs took over the government of South Africa and discriminated against Blacks in their own country. The world put them under sanctions as a result. We’re going to take their word on anything? That’s like the current dictator in Syria outlawing any opposition and us denying any of the protesters visas to enter Canada. It is absurd. It's like banning the armed rebels in Libya the allied forces helped overthrow Gaddafi from entering Canada.

Nelson Mandela was a political prisoner for years. He was a member of the ANC. After Mandela’s 1990 release from prison, he was elected president of ANC and went on to become South Africa’s first black president after the historic 1994 election. Does that mean Nelson Mandela is not allowed to get a visa to enter Canada? This is both bizarre and offensive. Obviously it’s an oversight but it needs to be corrected immediately.

How about those racist pigs who supported apartheid in the first place? Have they been banned from getting visa to enter Canada? I think not despite the fact that ban would be far more appropriate.

I know two white South Africans living in Canada. Aside from being arrogant, they are racist. All they do is complain about how Africa has gone down hill since they let Mandela out of prison and gave blacks the right to vote. That is totally offensive.

If you don’t like black people then stay the fuck out of their country. If you don’t like black people then leave them alone. Done invade their county and exploit them by turning them into slaves. That is so wrong.

We need to completely reverse this precedent. We need to allow members of the NAC visas to get into Canada and give them our most sincerely apologies while we ban the racists apartheid supporters who enslaved and exploited them for so many years.

Nelson Mandela: as they used to say in West Belfast, Happy Birthday comrade.

Kevin Gregson's murder trial

Another former RCMP officer on trial and in the news. This time for the murder of an Ottawa police officer. Obviously we can’t blame this one on the entire police force. Surely they don’t train their officers to kill each other. Clearly this was one wacko with problems. Yet there are elements of the case that I find disturbing.

During interrogation he claimed that there was a struggle and his training took over and he instinctively killed the other officer. He made the same claim in court arguing that he should be charged with manslaughter not murder. Rather bizarre.

The officer who was interrogating Gregson asked him what he meant by it was part of his training. He asked what training he was referring to because he wasn’t trained to kill in police training. After all he is not a special forces commando engaging the enemy in hand to hand combat where he would be trained to kill the enemy. The police are trained to use reasonable force in arresting suspects. Not to kill them.

Gregson said it was part of his police training. The officer said no it’s not. I’ve been a police officer longer than you and my training wasn’t to kill people. Gregson said well you’re not RCMP. I see. Another dingledorf playing the superior training of the RCMP card. Which would reinforce the stereotype about the abrasive arrogance associated with the RCMP wherein they think their training is far superior to other police force training making them better. Or at least less accountable.

Somehow we need to get over that glaring false stereotype. That the RCMP is the most respected police force in the world and is so much better than other police forces. All we have seen in the past ten years of disclosure is sexist unprofessionalism, rape, abuse and excessive force. Obviously there are good police officers out there. Yet the unending documented complaints of sexual inappropriateness on the job from top officials has made the force the laughing stock of the world and carries with it the stigma of being unprofessional.

Which leads us directly back to Depot. Depot is abusive. If that training was so much better than the other police forces’ training then it would be effective at teaching officers to have self control when it comes to dealing with verbal abuse. Instead it clearly teaches that abuse is ok and since we are so much better than everyone else, we should report to abuse and excessive force to remind people that we are so much better than everyone else. The logic is very flawed.

Some hecklers on the blog think I’m a police officer. I have no desire to prove them wrong my trashing the police. Hecklers will be hecklers and criticize everything I say simply because most criminals don’t want the exposure.

I do support law and order. I do have an idealistic and possibly naive image of what the police should be like Paul Gross in the TV series Due South. When I trash talk gangs selling crack, and the hecklers claim I sound like a cop, then it would appear that on some issues, I totally agree with some officers. Frustration with the judges would be another.

Yet I believe in the sanctity of life and the dignity of humanity. I believe the police are civil servants and that their mandate is and always has been to serve and protect. Civil servants means it is their role to serve the public who they protect and who pay their wages. Lawyers think they are better than the public because they are learned in the law. They use the term my learned friend. Likewise some police tend to think they are better than the public because the public don’t understand what the police have to put up with on the street.

Clearly what the Williams Lake police officer did to that young girl was wrong. Clearly. Clearly there is something wrong with a man punching a woman in the face repeatedly. Reasonable force means using a restraining hold not punching them in the face over and over to let you vent your anger issues built up since Depot. Clearly we do need to aspire to something higher.

Williams Lake Police Officer accused of assault

An assault charge has been recommended by police probing a Williams Lake Mountie who allegedly punched a teenage girl repeatedly last year while she was handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser.

Obviously there are several concerns here. The girl was allegedly running away from a street gang and asked a bystander to call 911. Her mother gets a call and rushes to the scene. All of a sudden the girl running from the gang is arrested and thrown into the back of a police cruiser. She starts kicking the window shouting out Mom.

Couple things... if she was the one that asked for the police to be called, why was she arrested? Why was she so afraid of being taken away by them? One would think that if you are innocent of nay crime that you have nothing to fear and will sit calmly waiting for the misunderstanding to be reveled. Perhaps she was afraid she wasn't going to be believed.

There are two questions that arise. First is if a prisoner starts kicking the police car window from inside the vehicle, what is the police officer supposed to do? One could reasonably argue that letting the kid freak out and have a temper tantrum would be fine as she would eventually tire. Just like a kid in time out.

The whole concept of a grown man punching a woman, any woman, especially an underage woman in the face is very disturbing. Punching her multiple times in the face causing that much physical damage is very disturbing.

It makes me think of a youtube video I saw of a police officer in the States arguing with a woman on the street. All of a sudden he winds up and punches her in the face. I'm like where on earth did that come from? What part of the police training manuals says when a suspect doesn't obey you command at the snap of your finger, you are justified in punching her in the face?

The first thing I'm forced to ask is does he beat his wife and kids? Evidently Const. Andy Yung has past history. Seemingly this story was first published in The Province Sept. 28, 2011 and it's taken this long to consider doing anything about it.



Violence against Native Women

Another thing we need to talk about is racism. This whole issue of violence against Native women needs to be addressed. I do not understand how people can think that using violence against a native woman is ok because it’s not.

Discussing it is timely but also relevant since the last lawyer representing First Nations women has just withdrawn from the Pickton Red Herring Inquiry. Not all the women found on the Pickton farm were native but a large number of them were. There continues to be a large number of Native women missing and mistreated in the DTES.

Yet their mistreatment is by no means limited to east van. There was that horrific case of a court Judge in Prince George who was convicted of violent sexual abuse of under age Native girls. That is somewhat bizarre. Historically we’ve heard about the abuse that Native children suffered in the early school system. Physical abuse as well as sexual abuse. Tragic and bizarre. This still needs to be addressed.

Corporal Punishment

The next thing we need to talk about is discipline. When I first had kids, I wanted to be a good parent. I took a series of courses called discipline without shouting or spanking. There was a lot of talk about how corporal punishment was wrong but not a lot of talk about healthier forms of discipline. You can’t just say to a parent spanking is wrong without giving them tools to replace it with. The last thing we want to do is raise a generation of spoilt brats.

My father was big on fences. He said we all have fences. Even as adults. As a child we are placed in a virtual fenced area. You’re allowed to play in the yard or the street but if you go beyond that you’ll have your freedom restricted. Sure enough I learned that lesson well. My father used to say as a kid demonstrates he can handle the rules within a fenced area, then he is given more freedom and his fences expand. As he shows that he is unable to keep the rules within his fenced area, then his freedom is restricted and his fences shrink. It’s simple cause and effect.

Yet it’s not a police officer’s role to punish suspects. That role belongs to the courts. If a kid is chained in a cell or handcuffed in a police car and they throw a temper tantrum, let them vent. Eventually they will tire. You can say, if you don’t stop doing that, you are going to spend the night in jail. That is totally reasonable. Parents know that following up on a consequence is essential. If you say don’t do that or this will happen, then you better be prepared to do whatever you said the consequence was or chaos will be the result. That is as long as the consequence is reasonable. You can’t say stop kicking the car or I’ll punch you in the head until I cave your face in. That is not an appropriate consequence. You can say stop kicking the car or I will shackle your feet. Ooo scary they laugh. Shackle the feet and they can’t kick any more. Problem solved. The goal is to solve the problem not to punish the suspect.

Sure it takes more time to use the fence model but it is a better way. It doesn’t provide the same venting of displaced aggression beating a child does but that is a good thing. Don’t kick the cat. If you have anger issues deal with them don’t take them out on someone else. Tasering someone after they have been hogtied is a crime in itself.

Allen Stanford guilty of $7bn Ponzi scheme

Here's the other Potsie. I mean Ponzi. Allen Stanford, the Texan financier, knight of Antigua, Washington power player and billionaire benefactor of English cricket, has been found guilty of orchestrating a $7bn Ponzi scheme. US politicians, the authorities in Antigua and the England and Wales Cricket Board were all left red-faced by their associations with Stanford.

With investors still reeling from the revelations about Bernard Madoff's historic Ponzi scheme, Stanford had become a media sensation. Billions were said to be missing and investors were panicking in cities from Houston to London, Caracas to Switzerland.

$7 billion - that is significant. Did those investors get 50cents on the dollar? I think not. Deregulation opens the flood gates wide open for massive investment fraud that steals life savings and pensions, destabilizes the market and crashes economies.

Earl Jones

Speaking of fraud, another couple of Potsies are in the news. I mean Ponzis. The Royal Bank of Canada, RBC, settled for $17 million with the victims of convicted Montreal fraudster Earl Jones. Jones had his accounts at an RBC branch.

Unfortunately the little old lady doesn't win, she just recoups less than half of her losses. Jones is currently in prison in Ste-Anne-des Plaines, Que. Convicted for theft and fraud, he was sentenced to an 11-year term in February 2010.



Restitution is a fundamental aspect of justice. 50 cents on the dollar is better than nothing but these fraudsters need to be held legally liable for the money they steal.

The Pickton Inquiry continues to Crumble

The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry was dealt another blow to its credibility Monday with the withdrawal of the last lawyer who speaks for First Nations.

Virtually all key women’s and community groups had already pulled out of the inquiry after they were denied legal funding to analyze 100,000 pages of documents. Robyn Gervais, appointed last Aug. 12 as “independent counsel for aboriginal interests,” left the inquiry after commissioner Wally Oppal refused to hear her statement.

The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry has lost any remaining credibility with the aboriginal community after the withdrawal of a lawyer representing aboriginal interests, the leader of B.C.'s chiefs said Tuesday. "It has no credibility," Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, told reporters.

"Given that these hearings are largely about missing and murdered aboriginal women, I feel I shouldn't have to fight to have the voices of the aboriginal heard," said Gervais, who is Metis.

"The delay in calling aboriginal witnesses, the failure to provide adequate hearing time, the ongoing lack of support from the aboriginal community and the disproportionate focus on police evidence have led me to conclude that aboriginal interests have not and will not be adequately represented in these proceedings," Gervais told Oppal.

"While I recognize that it is necessary to hear from police, I became increasingly concerned that you would not hear from aboriginal witnesses," Gervais told Oppal. She said the inquiry has sat for 53 days, has heard 39 days of police evidence and minimal evidence from the aboriginal community.

Oppal pointed out that there has been much criticism of police and the commission wants to correct the mistakes made in the past. He also agreed with Gervais, who complained that of 24 lawyers at the inquiry, most were representing police at taxpayers expense.

Sad but it is clear that Wally Oppal is just in it to scam a pay cheque without allowing the real issues to be discussed. Like the underlining cause of the murder of Ashley Machiskinic.

Nabil Alkalil and Larry Amero

While we're on this stroll down memory lane, let's reflect upon the Loft Six shooting Aug 16 2003. Before Loft Six opened in October 2001 after a $200,000 renovation, the nightclub was owned by Hells Angels member Donald Roming, a member of the elite Nomads chapter. Roming, 40, was fatally shot on March 9, 2001, outside the Bar None club in Yaletown following an argument with two men in the bar shortly before closing time. The men took the dispute outside and Roming was shot.

When discussing the Hells Angels take over of the stripper agencies in BC, Andy Richards said "In the early 1990s, the now-dead Hells Angels member Donald Roming was one of the key enforcers helping push others out of the stripper business -- at one point seriously assaulting one of the owners of another agency."

"Without speaking ill of the dead, he was responsible for laying a very serious beating on a 67-year-old man who was involved with one of the independent companies at the time, to the point this guy was hospitalized," he explained. There were no arrests from these "takeovers" because of the victims' reluctance to report the activities to police, he added.

Well, one of the victims of the August 2003 Loft Six shooting was Mahmoud Alkhalil, a 19 year old from Vancouver. His older brother, Khalil Alkhalil, died in a hail of bullets in Surrey in January of 2001.

As a side note, it was Alkhalil's family and friends who allegedly attacked lawyer Phil Rankin outside a New Westminster court a month after that shooting. Rankin was defending Michael Naud who was accused of the second degree murder of Khalil.

I am told that Nabil one of the Alkalil brothers had a wedding this summer in Ottawa in which Larry Amero and Jonathon Bacon attended. Nabil Alkalil was caught with 11 kilograms of cocaine in Ottawa back in 2008 and served a seven year sentence less statutory release.

I am told that Nabil's brother's Terry and Hisham are involved in Ottawa and Vancouver. One of my sources claims Larry Amero is in charge of their business venture. Must be similar to that courier company the guy who was shot in Walnut grove set up in Montreal. Ya gotta wonder who Larry's hanging out with these days after getting shot up with Jonathon Bacon in Kelowna.

I certainly wish no harm upon Larry. I also hope he's no longer involved in the drug trade. Clearly it is a dangerous business as we have seen that steroids don't make you bullet proof. We know that Larry's friend, Jonathon Bacon was involved in the drug trade. We know the organization Larry is a member of is also involved in the drug trade. Unfortunately, that organization has a tendency of eating their own when they no longer need their services. That is what I mean by greed.

The murder of Terry Watts‏

Let's take a walk down memory lane. Remember the Christmas in Vancouver back in 1995? Sept. 11, 1996 there were some drug related murders in Abbostford. Maclean's claimed the Mounties struggled to keep a tight lid on other aspects of the case and "the gang's" role, not only in the Abbotsford massacre but also in the contract killings of two RCMP informants, Ernesto Albornoz in Montreal and Eugene Uyeyama in Vancouver.

In fact, Maclean's has learned, "the organization" is responsible for more than a dozen, possibly as many as two dozen, murders in Canada, including the August, 1996, shooting of former speed-skiing champion Terry Watts in Vancouver. And Morrisroe, a primary police source in at least nine of the homicides, was the RCMP's main pipeline into a Vancouver cell under the Cali cartel's control.

Terry Watts was killed over over an unpaid drug debt. So if he was killed for a drug debt, who was the drug debt to? The same people who killed Eugene Uyeyama? "The Boys" hired Bobby Moyes to kill him and sent wrapped Christmas presents of gasoline to burn him and his house after they killed him. It is my submission that "the Boys" they are referring to is the Hells Angels.

The court was told Salvatore Ciancio was the one who hired Bobby Moyes to kill the police informant after the was arrested in a large cocaine bust tied to Salvatore Ciancio's associate Tony Terezakis. Who as we all know was affiliated with you know who.

Tony Terezakis was the guy who video taped himself beating the life out of drug addicts for drug debts in East Vancouver. So my question is this - if they were killing police informants and killing people for drug debts back in 1995, who's doing it now? Please advise.

If Maclean's knew about this secret gang, if the police knew and if all the locals except for me knew, then why on earth did Vancouver city hall give the Hells angels $2 million out of social housing? I'm not talking about buying the Drake hotel from the Hells angels.I'm talking about giving them $2 million more than it was worth. That money was earmarked for social housing. That's like stealing from the poor and giving it to the rich.

And if everyone knew about all these drug related murders,why on earth did Stephen Harper promote a lawyer for the Hells Angels to the Quebec Supreme Court? Quebec of all places.You can't get any more offensive than that. They just went through all that effort to crack down on the Hells Angels and built that expensive high security courthouse for the trails and Harper goes and does something as insane as that.

Sure lawyers have a right to represent whoever they want. But why was the president of the Conservative party representing the Hells Angels? That's so Gomery and Gagliano.

Tornado Devastation in the US

It is hard to watch the devastation left after a huge number of tornados touched down in the southern States. They say it isn’t even tornado season yet which means when the season hits more likely will be on the way. Tragic. It’s hard to prepare for something like that. Hearing news of a 16 month old toddler being found in a field after being picked up by the tornado and hurled away from her home was tragic. As was the news that she succumbed to her injuries and died along with her mother, father, and brother.

We’ve seen a fair bit of devastation globally of late. Oil spills, earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes. I’m not even going to get into the destructive weather patterns affected by global warming. Seeing those kinds of tragedies makes me ashamed. It makes me ashamed that here we are stuck in a yuppie greed war that is absolutely senseless and selfish.

We do know Vancouver will get it’s turn. It doesn’t take Nostradamus to predict that an earthquake will eventually hit Vancouver. Seismologists state it’s a matter of when not if a major earthquake will hit. We know that when an earthquake does hit, the water main will break and Surrey will be without water. All those gas heated wood framed homes will go up in flames and there will be no water for the fire department to put it out.

We know that Richmond is built on a delta in the river and when an earthquake shakes all that sand, Richmond will sink. I scoffed when I hear people go on and on about a tsunami hitting Vancouver. It will have to go through Vancouver Island first. No doubt the remnants of a tsunami could very well reach around Georgia Straight, yet the bulk of it would be taken by Vancouver Island.

So when the earthquake hits Vancouver, the downtown core will crumble, Surrey will burn, Richmond will sink and Vancouver Island will be flooded. Eat drink and be merry? Maybe not. Maybe we should appreciate the sanctity of life and appreciate what’s really important. The materialistic greed war fueled by drugs is not it.

Stephen Harper begins to Sink

More bizarre accusations continue to fly out of Harper's mouth long after they were proved wrong. Stephen Harper is still boldly declaring that the Liberals were the only party that used a US firm for their robocalls. That single statement contains two falsehoods.

The Liberals didn't use a US firm for their robocalls. That was proven. If he keeps repeating it long enough and if he starts yelling loud enough, will that make that false statement rue? I think not.

The Conservatives did use a US company for some of their robocalls. Saying that the Liberals were the only party that used a US company is also false because even if they did, which they didn't, they would be the only party that used them because the Conservatives did.

This was clearly pointed out in the media and the commentators are starting to ask what planet this guy is on to continue making false statements that everyone knows isn't true. Their credibility gap isn't just widening it's sinking like the titanic.

Firm linked to robocalls has shady past in U.S.

"The company" that handles the Conservative Party's computerized voter-identification system and powerful fund-raising machine has a checkered legal history in the U.S., where it operates call centres that have repeatedly been the subject of lawsuits and complaints over its telemarketing practices.

Formal election complaint filed

A North Vancouver man has filed a formal complaint with Elections Canada, alleging that an attempt was made to deceive him about where to vote in last year's federal election.

Bruno Bisaillon, 39, said Thursday that a machine-generated phone message purported to be from Elections Canada told him his balloting venue had changed from nearby Upper Lynn Elementary to a location three kilometres away.



Guy Giorno, Conservative campaign chairman for the last federal election has denied that the party was behind any dirty tricks being alleged in the robocall scandal. But that's simply not true. As soon as the story broke, a Conservative staffer resigned over it. Michael Sona, who until Friday was a staffer in Conservative MP Eve Adams's office, also worked for Conservative candidate Marty Burke in Guelph, Ont.

Harper got on his high horse and insisted they would get to the bottom of it and bring the people responsible to justice. They instantly found a scapegoat and demanded his resignation. Only when it was obvious the voter suppression operation was bigger than one riding and one kid, Harper completely changed his story and denied anyone from the Conservative party had anything to do with it. But we already caught and fired Michael Sona. The next question that needs to be addressed is who else was involved?

Giorno also said Tory staff couldn’t make ‘despicable’ robocalls without party knowing. Is that so.

Calls traced to Racknine

Nine Conservative campaigns used the services of Racknine, the call centre whose services were used for the fraudulent calls. It's not unusual to use call centres for legitimate campaigning.

Ridings across the country reported fraudulent calls on May 2, 2011, redirecting voters to the wrong polling station. The RCMP told CBC News on Thursday that Elections Canada is investigating the matter.

Sona made news before the election when he allegedly tried to grab a ballot box at the University of Guelph. He claimed the polling station was illegal. A statement released by Burke's campaign said nobody from their team touched a ballot or ballot box. Elections Canada allowed the ballots to be counted.

Sona graduated from the University of Guelph in 2010, according to a web page showing his professional history. He worked for Conservative MP Rob Moore from June 2010 until March 2011 and from May to September 2011. He also worked for Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore for four months in 2009.

Feedback in the Vancouver Province

The Vancouver Province ran some interesting voter feedback on the matter.

How many more scandals can we tolerate with The Conservatives. He has been Prime Minister for 6 years and from Bev Oda, to contempt to robo-calls it is clear he has no respect for democracy or Canada.

--David C Jones, Vancouver

Nothing will come of it.....a complete waste of time. Politicking at its worst. Lets get on with running the country and the opposition making sane suggestions as to how things can be improved.

--John Sykes, Abbotsford

Of course, Harper will deny knowing anything about this misleading tactic…just another step in the attempt to monitor everyone all the time. George Orwell, here we come.

--Paul Davey, Vancouver

I think Mr. Harper knows more than what he saying, a lot more! I wouldn’t be surprised if this was his idea! This is one of the most corrupted governments this Country ever had, It reminds me some guy called Gordo. Politicians should all adopt a middle name beside Honorable as soon they are elected: Pinocchio.

--Tony Paone, Port Coquitlam

It sounds like the Conservatives are back pedaling. If it can be proved that the Conservatives participated in dirty politics, then a vote of non-confidence should be taken to force Harper to step down. Regardless if he knew about it or not, he is ultimately responsible for his team.

--Donna Rae, Surrey

A Kingdom of Conscience

Rick Steve’s Europe was on the other night. This episode was about Paris. I never realized at the centre of Paris is an island in the middle of the river just like Montreal. They showed Notre Dame and Rick Steves pointed out the meaning of the name. Notre Dame – Our Lady. In Ireland Our Lady is the Mother of Our Lord. It is the same in France. I never realized that Notre Dame was literally a cathedral in tribute to Notre Dame. OK I’m a bit slow.

I’d really like to visit Paris one day. I really need to work on my French though. When I was young I had a wonderful visit to Quebec. Every time I spoke French they answered me in English. They didn’t like the way I butchered their wonderful language.

It reminds me of the time I went to the Hen Long market and asked for some dit da jao. The person working there asked me to repeat my request three times and just stood there with a puzzled look on their face not having a clue what I was wanting. Then I explained it’s a liniment used in the martial arts for shin or hand conditioning. The light went on. Ah liniment. You mean dit da jao. I’m like yeah, that’s what I said. What I said and what they said sounded the same to me but obviously it wasn’t.

There was another episode of Rick Steves Europe that moved me. It was an episode of Toledo, a Muslim city in Spain, that was conquered by the Christians. Toledo's history is a complex mix of three great religions with an impressive record of peaceful co-existence.

Physical reminders of Toledo's multi-cultural history are everywhere. In the year 711, zealous members of the world's newest religion — Islam — conquered the Iberian peninsula. For seven centuries, these North African Muslims — called Moors — dominated Spain.

The Moors were impressively tolerant of the people they ruled, allowing Jews and Christians to practice their faiths freely. And, with cultural ties that stretched from here, across Africa to Arabia and beyond, Spain's Moorish culture was a beacon of learning in Europe's so-called "Dark" Ages.

Mathematics, astronomy, literature.and architecture.all flourished. After Christians took back Toledo in 1085, many Moorish craftsmen and builders stayed on leaving their Arabic imprint on the city for generations to come.

The architecture was amazing and it included large baths for washing according to their religious traditions. It made me sad to see that culture lost as they were conquered and cast out.

Last night I watched the Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom. Orlando Bloom was a good elf in Lord of the Rings and a good side kick in Pirates of the Caribbean but he sure played a weasel in the movie Troy. Nevertheless, the character he played in Kingdom of Heaven was profound.

It was all about good and bad. Not one force for good and one force for evil but the good and bad found within each aspect of society. They had a good king and a bad king. They had good knights and bad nights. They had good Christians and bad Christians. They had good Muslims and … well they didn’t have any bad Muslims in the movie like they did have bad Christians who would murder and exterminate indiscriminately.

In the movie the Muslim character Saladin was good. He aspired to something higher. The whole movie was about the lure that Jerusalem had for the various religions. The message behind the movie became apparent when a knight said to Orlando Bloom’s character, Jerusalem has no need of a perfect knight. To which he responded, no, It is a Kingdom of Conscience or nothing.

Historically many knights raped, murdered and plundered. Yet in the movie Liam Neeson declared Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath. The oath of a good knight.

After the bad knights had inflamed the Muslims by needlessly wiping out an innocent city of Muslims, Saladin gathered his armies to take Jerusalem. Protecting the city Orlando Bloom asks Which is more holy? The Jewish Temple? The Muslim Mosque? The Christian Sepulchre? All have claim to these. We fight not to defend these stones. We fight to protect the people in this city. Protect the helpless. That is your oath.

It reminded me of a scene from the movie Shake Hands with the Devil. The Canadian commander is discussing the future of Rwanda with a local leader. The local leader says he wants to fight to save Rwanda. And what is that the commander asks. These trees, that dirt, those hills? How do you save Rwanda if you don’t save the people in it?

In the movie Kingdom of Heaven there was another scene when the city was under seize and they had to burn the bodies of the dead. The religious leaders said you can’t burn the bodies. They will not come forth in the resurrection. Orlando Bloom’s character said if we do not burn these bodies the whole city will die of disease. God will understand. And if he doesn’t, he is not God and we have no need to worry.

Indeed the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. It is in the hearts and minds of all those who aspire to something higher. That is something all of us can do. We can hope for something better and we can aspire to something higher.

Skyrocketing Hydro Bills

The news has been showing numerous cases of people reporting skyrocketing Hydro bills. Recently there was a case of a senior who lived in a small suit who reported insane jumps in his hydro bill. After the news ran the story, Hydro claimed they looked into it and the problem was someone mistakenly applied a $170.00 payment to his bill which was being recouped. Yet that alleged payment was smaller than the spike in his bill and he is not the only one. Their excuse is not believable.

Today CTV news reported several people reporting massive spikes in their hydro bill in the last couple of months. Many claimed the huge spikes in their hydro bill came after their smart meter was installed. BC Hydro claims that isn’t true and that they are receiving more complaints of spikes in bills from people on the old meter systems.

Clearly there are two separate problems. Smart Meters are a serious concern. Aside from the security threat of government surveillance, increases over daytime usage bills are eminent. Yet those spikes which surely will come aren’t included in the current spikes. The current spikes represent a huge concern.

Hydro subsidiaries that have been privatized and mandated to make a profit, were accused of false billing along with Enron. Massive spikes in residential hydro bills are in themselves a serious concern. It represents an unaccountable monopoly that can rip people off without any dispute mechanism. Where did this bill come from?

Today’s highlighted example was a woman in a small suite with only two baseboard heaters. There is no believable reason for the massive spike in her bill. She has been forced to cut off the heat in one room and forced to use a toaster oven instead of a conventional oven. I don’t want to be a perpetual drama queen but this is really serious.

This is not the country we want to leave to our children’s children. Leaving them an unaccountable Enron monster that consumes everything in its path would be socially irresponsible. Right now it is forcing seniors on fixed income to limit their food intake, cut of their heat, stop using their ovens and wash dishes by hand. Massive increases to their bill after they have made these sacrifices is not only wrong, it is criminal.

Bill McKinnon's daughter arrested for drug trafficking

Well this is a bizarre new development. Lisa McKinnon, 22, who now resides in Richmond, was arrested Tuesday along with a 19-year-old Kelowna woman Tuesday in Kelowna. According to court documents, McKinnon faces two charges of possession for the purpose of trafficking in heroin and cocaine. Lisa is the daughter of Kelowna RCMP Superintendent, Bill McKinnon. Flewelling says once investigators realized who they were dealing with steps were taken to isolate Supt. McKinnon from the investigation. "Supt. McKinnon was not aware of what was going on and that the investigation was allowed to go on keeping in mind the integrity of the investigation," says Flewelling. He says this should not be seen as a black mark on the Kelowna Detachment but underscores the fact drugs and crime can affect anyone. "I think it speaks to the point that criminality and drugs is something we all have to face. Any one of us are not immune from that type of thing," says Flewelling. "We are all susceptible to drugs and what it can do. He and his wife are not different. They're victims, they're parents. I can't stress that enough. They are at home dealing with it."

2 more Mafia-linked shootings in Montreal

A 38-year-old man with reported links to the Montreal Mafia was gunned down in a strip mall parking lot in Saint-Léonard on Thursday evening. Radio-Canada has identified the victim as Giuseppe (The Closer) Colapelle, an enforcer with ties to the Rizzuto clan.



Among a long list of Rizzuto family murders, in 2010, Agostino Cuntrera, 66, a high-ranking associate of the Rizzuto crime family. The second man murdered has been described as Cuntrera's 48-year-old bodyguard.

Three Duhre associates ambushed in Surrey

Three men who were associates of slain gangster Sandip (Dip) Duhre were ambushed by several gunmen as they arrived at a Surrey house Tuesday night. One of the three - Harm Gill, 28 - was hit by the gunfire, which began to ring out just after 10 p.m.

Gill remains in a Vancouver hospital with nonlifethreatening injuries. The other two men were not wounded. RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen said any one of the three in the Duhre-linked trio might have been the intended target.

Police have warned of escalating gang violence between rival groups - one described as the DuhreDhak group and the other a loose alliance of some Hells Angels, members of the Independent Soldiers and Red Scorpion gangs.

Keeping in mind, initial media reports said there was a gang war between the DuhreDhak group and the Hells Angels. Now media reports are adding the IS and the RS to the list of a loose alliance with the Hells Angels. Yet we know the IS and the new RS are Hells angel puppet clubs. They don't like to be referred to as puppets but they are. They get their drugs from the Hells Angels and pay their tax.

Tariq Mohammed Aslam is awaiting trial in Kelowna with two others after being charged in September 2010 in connection with a 97-kilogram load of cocaine smuggled into Canada in the steel drums of a fruit-grinding machine. Do ya think "they" were worried he was going to cut a deal? Does Clifford Roger Montgomery know Glen Hehn? Please advise.

Phasing out of Oxycontin

OxyContin - the popular painkiller known as hillybilly heroine on the streets - is no longer available in Canada, but health-care workers say doctors, manufacturers and government officials need to team up to tackle pill addictions. Starting Thursday, Canadian manufacturer Purdue Pharma will roll out another painkiller called OxyNEO instead of OxyContin.

The new type of oxycodone is supposed to be harder to abuse and can be swallowed as a whole pill but not crushed or injected to get high.

The medication, which is produced by drug company Purdue Pharma, is also no longer on the list of drugs doctors can prescribe. Oxycontin has also been removed from the Health Canada program that pays for prescription drugs for First Nations members.

For someone who needs Oxycontin as a painkiller, a prescription for Oxycontin can still be filled during March, which is being called a transition period. But doctors are now asked to prescribe OxyNeo, instead.

As of Feb. 28, 2013, a period of one year, doctors will have to make a special application for patients to get OxyNeo. Only patients being treated for cancer pain or palliative care will be eligible without a special application. In all other types of chronic pain, the doctor will have to prove no other medication has worked for the patient.

Nicolas Sarkozy meets mob of angry protesters

French President Nicolas Sarkozy took refuge from a crowd of several hundred angry protesters in a cafe, as riot police swarmed in to protect him while he campaigned in the country's southwest Basque country. Three cheers. Nicolas Sarkozy is a dirty dog who took money from Gadhafi for his election campaign then screwed him royally.

Robocall Scandal Continues to Expand

Well the latest break in the Robocall scandal is Stephen Harper’s bold claim that they had discovered that the Liberals were behind it. Which didn’t only not makes sense, turned out to be completely false.

It was the NDP that pointed out their error. The company, Prime Contact in Canada is not affiliated with the American company of the same name. Del Mastro made the same point Harper did in the house of commons but later revealed in a televised interview on CBC that he was not aware there was a Canadian company, PrimeContact Group, by the same name as a U.S. company based in North Dakota.

To claim that the Liberals would harass and discourage their own voters from showing up on election day fails the test of believability. It doesn’t make sense. Why would they do that? To make it look like the other side was pulling dirty tricks after an election? No way.

Those guys are all desperate for votes. As pointed out by one analyst, they will do everything in their power to not only win an election but to crush their opponents and win by an even larger margin. To say that they were willing to not only lose votes but lose an election in the hopes that nine months after the election the other party would look bad is absurd.

Although the political analysts are proceeding on innocent until proven guilty, all the political analysts discussing the matter in the news agree that this is a serious scandal and if true this conspiracy would rock the foundations of democracy and clearly be a criminal act. Trying to prevent someone from voting is as outrageous as stealing a ballot box. Most analysts also agree that since it did involve more than one riding it is highly unlikely one 20 year old kid could be responsible for the entire operation. Who seemingly denied he was to blame but claimed he knew who was.

The thing that bugs me is the rating of how the politicians are fairing in the scandal as opposed to finding out the truth behind the scandal. Saying Harper should respond by counter attacking the Liberals record and denying his involvement is outrageous. Criticizing the opposition because there complaint appears to lack continuity is ridiculous. This is a huge concern. Every day the scandal expands and gets more complex.

Most of the calls from the initial complaint falsely claimed to be from Elections Canada fraudulently telling voters of a certain political persuasion their place of voting was changed to discourage them from showing up on election day. Yet there are other bizarre claims in other ridings now as well like Jewish voters in Joe Volope’s riding being harassed on the Sabbath and other voters being harassed several times a day and at night claiming to be from the Liberal party. All the parties were using robocalls this election and it is possible there were glitches in the system. Yet fraud directed at certain voters in more than one riding is a lot more than a glitch. It is as the analysts’ claim, a criminal act that needs to be properly addressed.

A court order executed on an Edmonton call centre in November specifically refers to records related to the campaign of Conservative candidate Marty Burke in Guelph, where many voters reported receiving pre-recorded messages that falsely claimed their polling stations had moved.

Since reports of that investigation came to light last week, Liberals and New Democrats have reported fraudulent calls in dozens of ridings across the country and the Conservatives have called on anyone with information to send it to Elections Canada.



Vancouver demonstrators hit the streets. Elizabeth May and Lybie Davies are both reporting false Elections Canada calls made in their ridings.

Bandera Gold (BGL)

Bandera Gold Ltd. is a Junior Canadian Exploration Company located in Edmonton traded on the TSX maintaining a significant interest in projects in Colombia and Mexico. The stock isn't doing too well but penny stocks can be volatile.

I'm not sure where this picture came from:



But it appears to be the same picture that the Mexican newspaper got their picture of two Canadians tied to the UN gang charged with money laundering. Edmonton is an interesting location. That's red and white town. Alberta is the home of Brey-X ironically enough.





The State Attorney and the PGR are investigating two foreigners for fraud and threats. Ex-Cinco Minas owners Barnet and Bandera Gold directors face Criminal charges in Mexico.

This article claims that Ke(l)vin Williams who was director of a company called flag Gold was involved with two men identified as Eliot Castañeda, alias “El Taco”, of Guatemalan origin and Ahmet Kaawach, nicknamed “Lou” of Canadian origin, who had relations with Barnett Salazar.

EU losses to Fraud

This buried headline in today's Vancouver Province could well be the most important story of the year. The European Union loses some $800 million to suspected fraud every year and it will consider setting up an office to combat it, a senior official said Tuesday.

This is relevant because that is a huge drain on the system. It is also relevant because the Greek financial crisis was the result of investment fraud. That massive fraud was hidden by Goldman Sachs who ripped off the EU of that massive bailout.

Allegations against Goldman Sachs highlight the pressing need to break up big banks and introduce strict financial regulation. Deregulation opens the flood gates wide open to investment fraud.

Kelowna Grow op bust and GHB

Another grow op bust in Kelowna in the 500 block of Gowen Place Friday. More than 1,200 plants were seized.

In the last two months police had shut down five marijuana grow-operations in the Central Okanagan including a business in West Kelowna (1,600 plants), two homes in Lake Country (1,800 plants) a warehouse next to a home on Belgo Road (3,600 plants) and a home in the Upper Mission (5,500 plants). Police also seized 23.5 litres of GHB, five gallons of unprocessed marijuana oil, over $12,000 in cash and several thousand dollars worth of growing equipment. Street value of the drugs is well over $100,000.

That's quite a shopping list. So in the past two months the police have raided five grow ops in the area and have also made a large date rape drug seizure. It doesn't say that the GHB was found with the pot but it does imply it. I suppose that technically could have been a separate bust.

What I find interesting is that we all know who controls the grow ops in Kelowna. If police found and seized date rape drug with or at a Kelowna grow op, then that would mean you know who was selling date rape drug again. Just sayin.

Ohio school shooting leaves one teen dead, 4 wounded

Another tragic school shooting in the States. This month alone, at least four shootings of students have occurred in schools across the country, including today's deadly attack outside Cleveland, Ohio. We can talk about guns, bullies and violence but one thing is certain - something is wrong.

The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999 where two students killed 12 other students and one teacher and wounded 21 others. Michael Moore's movie Bowling for Columbine was thought provoking.

The Robocall Scandal widens

The robocall scandal continues to widen. It certainly wasn't just one riding where one young kid was involved. Elections Canada and police are currently believed to be looking into reports that automated calls in as many as 18 ridings falsely advised voters that the location of their polling stations had changed. Opposition parties claim it's more like 27 to 34.

The Conservative Party does not need to look into "robocalls" made during the last federal election any further, Defence Minister Peter MacKay says. "It's certainly not something our party condones," MacKay said Sunday of the fraudulent calls to voters. "It's inappropriate behaviour to say the least." But he told CBC News in New Glasgow, N.S., that he believes the calls directing people to wrong or non-existent polling places were isolated incidents.

Yeah, right. It's not something we condone. Just like we don't condone torture of prisoners. Much. Harper initially said the Conservative party had no knowledge of the scam. Yet with the rapidly expanding magnitude of the scandal, that is really becoming hard to believe.

I'm not a fan of Bob Rae but he did say one thing in question period that made sense. When will Stephen Harper begin to take personal responsibility? Excellent question. Unfortunately the answer is never.

Elizabeth May was profoundly eloquent on the matter. She said she was enraged because this scandal is an assault on Democracy. Turns out the robocalls were used in her riding as well to discourage non conservative voters from voting by telling them where they vote was moved. Elizabeth May said we don't have a smoking gun here. We have a dead body on the floor. I like her. She is a welcome addition to the debate. Clearly the police should investigate the matter because it is fraud.

Hells Angels Arrested in Funeral Shooting

Police have arrested a Hells Angel gang member several months after he was suspected of fatally shooting a fellow member at a funeral for the regional leader of the motorcycle gang.

Steve Ruiz surrendered Saturday evening after San Jose police surrounded his motel in Fremont, police Sgt. Jason Dwyer said Sunday.

Ruiz, 38, had been the subject of a widespread manhunt since Steve Tausan was shot and killed during memorial services for Jeffrey "Jethro" Pettigrew on Oct. 15. Police believe that Ruiz shot Tausan when a fight broke out at the San Jose funeral, which was monitored by police.

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What's the matter? Isn't anyone going to scream and claim that the Hells angels didn't have anything to do with this shooting either? Just because the accused is a member of the Hells angels and just because the guy he shot was a member of the Hells angels and just because it happened at a Hells angels funeral doesn't mean it involved the Hells Angels. Much.

Dave Pickton's revolting cover up

Well, convicted sex offender Dave Pickton is in the news again. Earlier this month, scared women on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside put up posters warning that the brother of infamous serial killer Willie Pickton has been seen in the area. “BEWARE!!! Don’t be fooled!” reads the poster, under a 1995 picture of Dave Pickton.

Now, he contacts the newspaper claiming he has started another nonprofit and is fundraising for poor children in Africa. I think we have a legal liability to notify the good people of Ghana that Dave Pickton is a convicted sex offender.

Dave Pickton was convicted of rape in 1992 on the same pig farm his brother was convicted of murdering and mutilating numerous women. Not only that, but during Pickton's trial Dave was accused of another rape. The victim claimed in 1999 he tied her to the bed with bungee cords and tried to shove pills down her mouth. Sgt. Dan Almas said he was aware of that allegation, and agreed that pills and bungee cords were found in a search of the younger Pickton's bedroom but stated "Someone who is alleged to have committed a serious sexual assault does not a murderer make." No but someone alleged to have committed a serious sexual offense should be charged and tried for that serious offense.

One of the most disturbing elements of the Pickton case was that Dave Pickton knew where bodies were buried on the farm. If that doesn't make him an additional suspect it surely makes him an accessory to the crime.

Recently we heard that the Hells angels ran an illegal booze can on sight right across from the Pickton farm which also contained a grow op run by the Hells angels. Yet Dave Pickton was the one who ran another supposed charity called the Piggy Palace Good Times Society. So was it a Hells angels booze can or was it Dave Picktons? Sometimes it's hard to tell. Either way letting him raise money for the disadvantaged is shocking to say the least. It's rather disappointing he still shows no regard whatsoever for the East Vancouver homeless. You'd think he'd have a little more compassion and remorse since so many of them were murdered and mutilated on his farm.