Thursday, January 5, 2012

78 convictions and still going



The Vancouver Province ran a front page article about a prolific offender today. The guy has 78 convictions and is still going. As the VPD has clearly shown, prolific offenders are still a problem in our judicial system. The more crimes they commit, the less jail time they serve. That is messed up.

Top Scams and Cons of the old era



I heard a commercial on the radio yesterday about CTV News running a special on top scams of 2011. From Banking fraud to locksmiths, who's trying to scam you and how to protect yourself. Although I missed the report I think it is very timely. Another aspect of the New York minute is the hustle -the scam, the con. The person who is trying to rip you off.

Identify theft and scams are something we should all be aware of. What about the big time scams that embezzle entire pensions? Since 2012 is the beginning of a new era, perhaps it's worth looking at a series of large scale scams from last year and beyond to examine the pattern these cons follow so we can indeed protect ourselves so we won't get fooled again.

Canadian Bank Bailout

Obviously in the United States bailing out the investment fraud on Wall Street was the top scam of the old era. Yet unbeknown to most, Canada had a similar scam. It took Canada from a $2.3 billion surplus to a $64 billion deficit with one swoop of the pen. That is significant.

Stephen Harper started off talking like a Conservative. He told the British Prime Minister that we don't think we should bail out the banks with tax dollars. Then he completely flips and gave them $75 billion.

The most bizarre thing of all is that most Canadians don’t know we bailed out our banks. Partly because the Harper government lied about doing so. If you remember when the Occupy movement was just starting to take root, the Harper government told the media that Canada was unlike the United States and didn’t have to spend tax dollars on a bank bailout. I myself thought that was true. It turns out that wasn’t true and that statement was a bold faced lie.

Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney was directly involved in one of the top scams of the old era. The Liberal government has accused him of getting a kickback in the Airbus scandal. He responded by suing the government for slander. He lied about his relationship with Karl in his court affidavit and the Liberals agreed to an out of court settlement of $2.1 million.

First, that settlement should not have come out of the tax payers pocket. If the Liberal party defamed someone then the liberal party is liable for the libel so to speak. A former civil servant suing the taxpayer is hypocritical at best.
Second, Mulroney lied. He committed perjury in his affidavits. The Liberal government hadn’t committed slander, they told the truth. He did receive a kickback for the Airbus scandal and he lied about his relationship with Karl. That means Brian Mulroney embezzled $2.1 million from the Canadian taxpayer and committed perjury. Mulroney should be charged criminally for the perjury and sued civilly to recoup the stolen $2.1 million. Scams are nothing new to the former Prime Minister. According to retired US Navy intelligence officer Al Martin, Brian Mulroney was involved with Bre X.

BC Rail

The BC Rail scandal make the top scams of the old era list. Not because selling public assets to their political friends and fire sale prices is anything new or shocking. It’s because of the direct ties to Gordon Campbell and Christy Clark as well as the party’s connection to money laundering and cocaine trafficking.

After the plea bargain was struck in the Bassi Virk case, Gordon Campbell publicly chastised them for wasting so much of the tax payers money by stalling off the trial past elections only to conclude by pleading guilty. That was obscene hypocrisy. They stalled off the trail to benefit him. The coped a plea bargain to benefit him. Then he goes and publicly blame them? That was offensive.

Then we find out that Sith Lord Christy Clark was also directly involved in the scandal not just her brother. Yet the biggest con of all was the cocaine trafficking charges that were dropped as part of the plea bargain. Bassi’s cousin was convicted of cocaine trafficking. Yet all charges against him and the BC Liberals were mysteriously dropped. Not long after that the RCMP renewed their contract in BC with those same Liberals after much talk of reverting to a Regional Police force.

HST

The HST was a top scam on 2011. The government spent millions of tax dollars on advertising trying to convince the public that the HST would lower taxes. Spending tax dollars on telling the public how to vote on a referendum was a scam in itself. Claiming the HST would lower taxes was a lie. They would not have spent that much money on advertising if it was going to lower taxes. They spent that much money on advertising because it was going to increase revenue. Taxing something that was previously tax exempt is not lowering taxes.

Smart Meters

Smart Meters is a top scam of 2011 and continues in 2012. Having a hydro meter report it’s usage without having to manually have someone go physically check the meter is one thing. Maintaining covert surveillance on the public is another. The public campaign to stop the Smart Meters continues in the New Year. Yet adressing the cause of the BC Hydro debt scam is even more important.

Operation Mass Appeal

The invasion of Iraq was a top scam of then old era. Weapons of mass destruction. The Americans sold Iraq chemical weapons to use on Iran during their war with them. Hanging Hussein, who they put in power, for using the chemical weapons he bought from them on the Kurds was hypocritical at best.

MI 6 was caught red handed giving false information to the media about Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction. They were trying to gain public support for an invasion. Operation Mass Appeal was yet another in a long list of scams involving military intelligence.

911 Third Tower

The 911 Truth movement was well represented at the George Bush demonstration in Surrey. Not everyone agrees with the official version of events. Claiming that the third tower, the one that was not hit by any planes, collapsed into it’s own blueprint at free fall speed was due to heat and fire is clearly a top scam of the old era. That is not scientific. Engineers will confirm that.

The BBC reporting the fall of the third Tower before it fell was yet another scam. Later the BBC claimed that if they had reported the fall of the tower before it fell, that did not mean they were involved in the conspiracy. It only meant they made an error. Not likely. That’s like reporting a bank robbery before it happens when it did in fact happen. A mistake would be reporting that something happened when it didn’t. That would be a mistake. Reporting something that did happen before it happened wasn’t a mistake on their part. It just meant the people responsible sent out the press release a few minutes early.

911 Asbestos

Larry Silverstein buying the Twin Towers right after the Port Authority lost the court case to force the insurance agencies to pay for the asbestos removal was another top scam of the old era. The Port Authority were denied a permit to demolish the Twin Towers because it was half full of asbestos and that would create a health hazard for the general public. Shortly thereafter two planes crashed into the Twin towers bringing them down just like a controlled demolition at free fall speed.
Larry Silverstein went to court with the Port Authority at his side and was awarded twice the value of his investment because two planes were involved in the attack not just one. That’s like insuring a car worth $20,000 that gets in a three car collision and being paid out $40,000 twice the value of the car just because it was involved in a three car collision instead of a two car collision. Larry Silverstein doubling his investment from 911 was another tragic scam of the old era.

Gas Pipeline

Afghanistan was initially blamed for 911 even though Bin Laden was found in Pakistan. Three months before 911 the Texas oil barons were wining and dining the Taliban trying to woo them and win over the contract for the Central Asia gas pipeline through Afghanistan. Unicol had the contract initially but in the end the Taliban decided to give the contract to Bridas a firm from Argentina. Three months later, 911 occurred, Afghanistan was invaded and that decision was reversed. The contract was taken from Bridas and given back to the Americans. Bridas losing the contract for the oil pipeline in Afghanistan is another top scam of the old era.

Opium Poppies

Julie Couillard was MP Maxime Bernier's girlfriend. He was caught leaving sensitive military documents about Afghanistan in her possession. Later she claimed Maxime told her that the war in Afghanistan was about control of the opium trade. It had nothing to do with democracy or liberation.

Afghanistan used to be the world’s largest producers of opium which is used to make heroin. After the Taliban took control of the government they had that production practically eliminated completely. After the allied invasion of Afghanistan, the American troops were protecting the opium farms and Afghanistan returned to being the world’s largest suppliers of opium.

The media claimed that if the American soldiers didn’t help the opium harvest the farmers would be angry about then lost revenue and blame them. Yet the Taliban had eliminated the crop so it wasn’t a matter of stopping something they were already doing. It was a matter of letting them do something the Taliban had stopped. Invading Afghanistan and returning it to the world’s largest suppliers of opium is yet another top scam of the old era.

The Greek Financial Crisis

Last but not least, the top scam of the old era goes to the Greek Financial crisis which was a manufactured emergency resulting from investment fraud that Goldman Sachs helped cover up to rip off the EU from that massive bailout. Buyer Beware, bank bailouts from investment fraud need to be addressed.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

A Montreal Crack House



The free crack pipe controversy continues. The Vancouver Province reports Many Province readers clearly feel that the Vancouver Coast-al Health Authority has crossed that line with its decision to hand out free crack pipes in the Downtown Eastside. I haven't met anyone in real life who doesn't oppose it. I've just met a couple of arrogant stalkers from Vandu online.

Handing out free crack pipes is not in the addicts best interest. I was in South Seattle in the /80's during their crack epidemic. One crack addict / dealer was talking to me with a baby in his arms. He was completely out of touch with reality and completely oblivious to the fact that his baby's diaper hadn't been changed in a very long time and was leaking. As the baby wet herself it gushed out all over him and he kept talking having no idea what was happening. I saw that.

Then we have the Montreal crack house. I wasn't there but I went out for lunch with a friend from Montreal recently who did. He was looking for a friend who got mixed up in that world. He came across a crack house where prostitutes were chained to the bed, had a bucket to go to the bathroom in and were paid in crack. I kid you not. This wasn't in the /80's. This was a couple years ago.

The Surrey House of Horrors and the Prince George crack shack torture chambers were no better. This is the real world of crack addiction. We should be using all our resources to shun it not to promote it. Handing out free crack pipes tells the addict that crack is OK when it's not. It's worse than drinking aftershave because it is far more addictive. Shame on us for caving in to the Zanadu Vandu freaks. That makes us accomplices to the outrageous violence associated with that drug.

Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring



Hours after publicly speaking against tougher drunk-driving laws, Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring was charged Sunday for refusing to take a breathalyzer test when a police officer pulled him over.

"Our government takes drinking and driving very seriously," said Sara MacIntyre, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's press secretary. She wouldn't comment further while the case is before court, except to say Goldring, 66, has withdrawn from caucus until the charge is resolved.

The Vancouver Province is reporting Goldring has changed his caucus affiliation from Conservative Party to Civil Libertarian after being charged with failing to provide a breath sample to police in December.

In 2009, Goldring opposed proposed legislation changes that would allow police to screen all drivers with roadside breathalyzer tests, whether or not officers suspected the drivers had been drinking.

"It is safe to say everyone is opposed to drunk driving - but there are civilliberty issues involved," Goldring wrote in an article posted on his website at the time. "There is the presumption of innocence and the right to not selfincriminate."

That's rather absurd. If we oppose drinking and driving, we will gladly give a breath test. The only reason for not doing so is as he claimed, not to self incriminate. In other words you're guilty but you don't want to get caught. Just like Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in Florida. Shame shame. I still say seizing your car after two drinks is wrong. That is a civil liberty issue not refusing to provide a sample to not self incriminate.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Jeremy Bettan



The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team released the names of the two latest murder victims. The 28-year-old Surrey man gunned down Tuesday is Apollo-Lyn Simpson. His family agreed with police that releasing his name might help the investigation. He has no criminal record, but was a problem tenant, according to his landlady.

And the 38-year-old man gunned down execution-style in the driveway of his Walnut Grove rental house has been identified as Jeremy Olivier Bettan. Bettan also has no criminal record, but [Kim Bolan] has learned he did in fact have some associations within organized crime.

One blog reader just pointed out that when I made my post about the boat Jonathon Bacon and Larry Amero were racing around on the day before they were shot was called Steroids and Silicone. Kind of a plastic world if you ask me. Nevertheless, one commenter said Jonathon didn't own the boat, Larry Amero and Jeremy did. I would certainly be a coincidence if the Jeremy Bettan who was recently shot was an associate of Larry Amero. I am told by someone who went to High School with Larry Amero that he went to Walnut Grove High Secondary and was picked on in school. I guess that's why he turned to the steroids. They claimed his father was a longshoreman which was the HA contact.

Update: Other sources claim Jeremy Bettan was originally from Langley and went to Montreal to set up a courier company there. Yet another source claims Jeremy Bettan "worked" for Larry Amero. That doesn't confirm joint ownership in the boat Steroids and Silicone but it does confirm a connection to Larry Amero and the Hells Angels.

Ecstasy Overdoses



More tragedies over Christmas and New Years. December 22 a seventeen year old girl from Abbotsford died from taking ecstasy. Another 24 year old woman from Abbotsford is in the hospital from an ecstasy overdose. Her friends claim she took seven hits. 24 is old enough to make your own decisions. Yet taking seven hits of ecstasy is not a wise or responsible decision. Tragic.

Calgary has just reported it's fourth ecstasy fatality. In Calgary a man died December 23rd from an ecstasy over dose and another fatality from New Years. A friend took Robert Harding, 25, to hospital but medical staff weren't able to revive him. "I think he took too many," said his older brother, Arlin Harding.

Daniel Dahl, 18, overdosed on ecstasy at a house party earlier this month. His mother said he ingested up to seven tablets of the drug. Dahl spent 10 days in hospital before doctors declared him brain-dead on Dec. 19.

In November, 16-year-old Alex Kristof died after taking ecstasy at a house party. Health officials said Kristof took eight tablets. Authorities said several people who attended the same party also took the drug — but just one tablet each. They were treated in hospital and released.

For now, authorities have no definitive answer about why three people have died after taking the drug while others have lived. The difficulty, said one drug investigator, is taking ecstasy in any amount is inherently dangerous. Tests routinely find ecstasy laced with other drugs such as ketamine, cocaine and LSD, and in varying potency. "Any amount of this drug is highly dangerous," said Staff Sgt. Mike Bossley of the Calgary police drug unit. "You're getting a different strength of drug every time you take it."

No doubt the suppliers of the Ecstasy from Abbotsford and Calgary are linked and it's not Santa. So what now? Do we start handing out free pill jars to make it easier for people to take ecstasy so they don't get germs from handling them by hand? Extacy like crack is a poison. We should not be helping people take poison. These are young people with their whole lives ahead of them. In many cases they are simply teenagers.

Young girls taking E as a diet pill is amazing. Either that's a line they're telling their parents or they're misinformed. Ecstasy is not a diet pill. Ecstasy is a very unstable drug. It's not safe to take. Taking seven his is very unwise. Similarly, a good dose for a regular Oxycontin user is enough to kill someone else. We shouldn't be spending tax dollars to make it easier for people to ingest poison.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Free Crack Pipes are in, Sanity is out



Well this is absurd. Vancouver is now handing out free crack pipes at the tax payer's expense. This project makes this web site a complete waste of time. It makes law enforcement a complete waste of time. It is a con that shoots ourselves in the foot and poisons our brothers and sisters.

Now the hecklers can stop saying Vancouver isn't handing out free crack pipes when we reported on the news that they planed to do so. Now that plan is being implemented and it diminishes all of use. Giving an alcoholic alcohol is not in the addicts best interest.

Are we going to hand out free Dixie cups for people to drink aftershave next? Poisoning people does not help them. I am not saying let's give all crack addicts the boots. Far from it. I'm saying let's have some compassion for the crack addicts and help them get off the drug and stop letting the crack dealers sell crack in public. That is the New York Model.

Clay Rouchet had compassion on his friend James Coulter by helping him overcome his crack addiction. That is what a true friend does. A real friend doesn't give you a straw to drink Mr Clean or a spoon to eat Drano. That is not what a real friend does.

Crack is a poison. It destroys peoples' lives. When I have more time I'll post links to YouTube videos of crack addicts in Surrey and Vancouver on the nods. It looks sub human. Enabling that is WRONG. The best thing for an addict who is a chronic offender of property theft to pay for his addiction is to lock him in jail for three months without any drugs. Period. A former addict in Surrey said that himself.

That's not even mentioning the torture and abuse crack addicts face every day. Hells Angel associate Tony Terezakis video tapped himself beating the life out or crack addicts who owed him money. He couldn't stop laughing in court when the videos were played. That guy is deranged as is anyone who profits from that kind of poison. This project is wrong. Time to elect a new City Hall.

Israel: Are you listening?



Strange story in the paper about a female Israeli soldier who was verbally abused by an ultra Orthodox Jew for not sitting at the back of the bus. There was a large demonstration of other Jews opposing it. Religious extremism and hypocrisy is indeed annoying and discouraging, yet it is nothing new. People will distort and exploit anything they want. That doesn't make it right.

Clearly any religion with anything to aspire to will elevate women not verbally abuse them. The guy should be giving up his seat for the woman not ordering her around and calling her names. In some minds chivalry is lost. I most certainly don't support any kind of Antisemitism many want to rekindle. We fought in the trenches on foreign soil to oppose that. Yet Israel is not always right and this man most certainly does not represent Israel. He is an extremist.

Israel is not always right. They would not have been slaves in Egypt or carried away captive in Babylon if they were. Yet Jesus was a Jew. The Bible was written by Jews. Do the Gentiles thank the Jews for that sacrifice? Religious extremism and hypocrisy is the very thing that Christ boldly confronted. He physically drove the money changers out of the Temple and called the religious leaders of the time liars, hypocrites and extortionists. He even went so far as to call them children of the devil warning that God is able to turn these stones into children of Abraham.

The Jews have a right to a home. So do the Palestinians. They are both children of Abraham who was also called Israel. I am somewhat baffled by some lobbyists that publicly denounce Zionism. Zion is the pure in heart. Zionism is a quest for a better world. Opposing that is rather silly. Zionism is not evicting people out of their home and taking over that home with force.

Israel's problem is that it is a nation without a constitution guaranteeing religious freedom and equal protection of the law. Instead of creating a free republic, they created a Jewish State. What on earth is that? Palestinians cannot have citizenship. They cannot have a passport or serve in the military. It is problematic.

The real problem is that neither side wants to share the land despite the clear command to vex not the stranger that sojourneth with thee. Take Gaza. Gaza firing rockets into Israel after Israel pulled out and gave them autonomy was crazy. Israel responding by shelling Gaza with White Phosphorous they bought from the Americans was over the top. The Palestinians in Gaza weren't the original inhabitants by the way. It's not like the native First Nations people here in Canada. The Philistines were the original inhabitants of Gaza. They were conquered by Ramses.

Surely I digress. I worked on a kibbutz in Israel when I was young. Israel is a wonderful place but it's full of crazies. Yes there are many wonderful people there from both sides who sincerely want peace. Yet there are wackos on both sides who are simply crazy.

I remember local trade Unions in Canada speaking out condemning Israel for building a wall protecting them from Palestinians who were firing rockets at them. I said you've got to be kidding. If my neighbor was firing rockets at me, I'd build a wall to defend myself too. It's a lot easier to criticize from the outside.

The real model for Israel is Neve Shalom Wahat al Salam - the Oasis of Peace. It is a community where Jews and Palestinians live in peace based on religious freedom. They aren't trying to water down and merge the different religious traditions into one. They simply say you're a Jew, you're a Muslim and you're a Christian and that's OK. That is a free republic. That is the model we should aspire to. There's a lot more I have to say about Israel but I'll save it for another time. Suffice it to say that Israel has gangsters too. Mark my word.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The Crimes of Mafia Killers and Motorcyclists in Canada



This is an English translation of an interesting article in Italian a blog reader just sent me talking about the Hells Angels involvement in the Montreal mafia war targeting the Rizzutos.

Y2K 2012



Sunrise, sunset. Where did the time go? Sometimes life is as precarious as a Fiddler on the Roof. You may ask why do we stay up here if it's so dangerous? We stay because Vancouver is our home. How do we keep our balance? One word. Tradition.

Yesterday I snowshoed up Seymour First Pump. It was awesome. Quite the New Years tradition with many people. Lots of people were snowshoeing up to Brockton Point with headlamps at dusk. Some even brought tents to catch the sunrise on New Years day.



Well the Y2K 2012 came and went and we're still here. I remember seeing a cartoon about a guy who went back in time and asked the person who carved the Mayan calender why it stopped in 2012. He simply responded, I ran out of space on the rock. Makes sense to me.

I really enjoy hiking in the mountains. Getting a great view helps to put things in perspective. Take the gang war. Organized crime is nothing new. Good and evil have always existed since the world began and we are still free to choose between the two. Just as it should be.

Ziggy Marley once said: "Have no fear of atomic energy, cause none of them can stop the time. Some say it's just a part of it, we've got to fulfill the book" so we do. Choose you this day...