Taking Care of Business: Criminal Gang Activity in Canada, Prostitution, Medical Pot

Note:

This is information previously posted on another site; the site is no longer in existence but the information is important in the context of what is happening right now so . . . . . . This is a copy. It was linked to from Sept. 20, 04.

List of Articles:

* Police struggle to keep ahead of pot growers -- 'Disturbing trends': Deadly traps being used to protect huge marijuana crops -- Sept. 20, 2004

* OMG: Police attack motorcyle gangs' PR efforts -- OMG's want to be viewed as "businessmen" and "good for business" -- Aug. 22 2004

* B.C.'s H**** Ang***: Rich and Powerful -- Canada is a haven for the outlaw motorcycle gang, with more members per capita than any other country. B.C's Angels have mounted an effective public-relations campaign that portrays them as harmless motorcycle enthusiasts, but they maintain a fearsome reputation in the criminal underworld -- Sept. 11, 2004

* I had no choice but to kill -- A former member of the 'Indo-Canadian mafia' in B.C. admits he had a hit put out on his boss -- "Bal Buttar, now a 28-year-old blind quadriplegic" has "found God", is talking, but not giving the necessary details -- figures not much more can be done to him -- Sept. 17, 2004

* Gang violence hits home -- The Times Colonist and the Vancouver Sun are investigating organized crime in B.C. in a series of stories. Today we examine the threat of Indo-Canadian gangs -- Sept. 18, 2004

* Thought Provoking: Safe strolls and brothels would reduce risks for prostitutes -- Sept. 17, 2004

* Pot laws need thorough overhaul -- Coleman should be pushing Ottawa for change, not harassing B.C.'s municipal politicians -- Sept. 13, 04

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Caveat: There may be a bit of information overlap since I started looking for and at this information a few days ago. Also, it would take more time to eliminate repetition than I have available.

Police struggle to keep ahead of pot growers -- 'Disturbing trends': Deadly traps being used to protect huge marijuana crops

Police struggle to keep ahead of pot growers -- 'Disturbing trends': Deadly traps being used to protect huge marijuana crops Tom Blackwell, National Post, September 20, 2004

[. . . . ] Police seized 1.4 million plants in 2003, with a street value of more than $1-billion, up from under 300,000 just eight years earlier, according to a recent report by the RCMP's criminal intelligence directorate.

While much of the public's attention has focused on the indoor grows that have become a bizarre fixture of the urban landscape, the cheaper outdoor crops are fast overtaking them in size.

Some criminals have even begun offering farmers as much as $400,000 to buy their properties, as long as they can move out within days, said Det.-Sgt. Barnum.

Police are also increasingly encountering dangerous defences around the pot fields. Armed guards are posted at some, while others are booby-trapped with spikes, guns hooked up to trip wires, or razor blades taped to plant stalks. "There's a lot of money sitting in the ground, so these guys are taking all the steps necessary to protect their investment," said Det.-Const. Dave Glass of the OPP, a leader of the eradication program in Eastern Ontario.

As Canada rethinks its approach toward soft drugs, police defend their actions as a blow against organized crime groups that have cornered the marijuana business -- and note that users of harder drugs usually start with pot.

Det.-Sgt. Barnum also says new evidence points increasingly to the fact that pot grown in Canada is in effect being traded in the U.S. for smaller quantities of cocaine that is then imported back here. Seizures of coke provincewide soared several-fold to a record of about 100 kilograms last year, he said.

The outdoor grows are even taking an environmental toll. Criminals have dug irrigation ditches and re-routed waterways, causing some marshy areas to completely dry up, said Supt. Mike Gaudreau, the RCMP's organized crime head for the Ottawa region.

Police are trying to strike back. Provincial forces in Ontario and Quebec run eradication programs with the RCMP, while the Mounties take the lead in the other provinces, helped occasionally by Canadian Forces helicopters.

[. . . . ] "The day we don't get 1,000 plants is a bad day," laments Det.-Const. Glass, who admits even their best efforts are a drop in the bucket. "We feel sad, dejected that we didn't do what we set out to do." [. . . . ]


OMG: Police attack motorcyle gangs' PR efforts -- OMG's want to be viewed as "businessmen" and "good for business" -- Aug. 22 2004

There is a series in the Vancouver Sun but you must be subscribed in order to read articles such as "Outlaw motorcycle gang members and the businesses they own". Maybe in a few days it will be available to general readership. The following article contains some information on the businesses of the OMG's.

Police attack motorcyle gangs' PR efforts Aug. 22 2004, CTV.ca News Staff, with a report from CTV's Hazel MacClement

[. . . . ] Local business people have nothing but good things to say about the gang's members. They're big tippers. And they pay cash.

But no one should have any illusions about where this money comes from. Even as one H**** Ang** contributes to his local charity for the blind, another will be busily importing cocaine by the kilogram for sale on local streets or in local schools.

Ontario drug-treatment officials say cocaine availability in Ontario has never been higher. Strangely, the increase appears to coincide with the Ang**s' arrival in this province.

[. . . . ] The H**** Ang*** are alleged to control the province's huge marijuana trade, valued at $4 billion to $6 billion per year.

In addition, the police say the Ang*** have branched out into legitimate businesses, including:

* Logging companies
* Clothing stores
* Film industry transportation companies
* Coffee shops

Police even allege "direct links" between a high-profile member of the Teamsters Union and the Ang***, although they wouldn't provide any details. [. . . . ]

B.C.'s H**** Ang***: Rich and Powerful -- Canada is a haven for the outlaw motorcycle gang, with more members per capita than any other country. B.C's Angels have mounted an effective public-relations campaign that portrays them as harmless motorcycle enthusiasts, but they maintain a fearsome reputation in the criminal underworld -- Sept. 11, 2004

B.C.'s H**** Ang***: Rich and Powerful Lori Culbert and Neal Hall, Judith Lavoie, Vancouver Sun and Victoria Times Colonist, Sept. 11, 2004

[. . . . ] Police said the Smith case underscores how H**** Ang*** distance themselves from crimes that could put them behind bars for life, instead contracting out to other gangsters -- a marriage of convenience, of sorts.

[. . . . ] The huge profits reaped from the drug trade, police say, have been used by H**** Ang*** to establish legitimate businesses ranging from trucking firms and retail cellular-phone outlets to travel agencies, coffee bars and hip clothing stores.

Members of the public generally do not know they are frequenting businesses owned by H**** Ang*** members, since police chose for years not to publicize that information.

And many H**** Ang*** use nominees -- trusted associates who register companies in their names -- to hide business assets, police say.

Vancouver police chief Jamie Graham vowed to "shine the light" on H**** Ang*** activity when he took over as chair last August of the national strategy to combat outlaw motorcycle gangs for the Canadian Association of Chief of Police.

The public is also affected by the hundreds of H**** Ang*** "associates" -- a network of friends of club members who have been known to infiltrate the country's ports, phone companies, the post office and other government offices where private information can be obtained about citizens who run afoul of the Angels.

"The ports is an example where they use their associates to facilitate criminal activity," said Inspector Andy Richards, in charge of the outlaw motorcycle gang unit within the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, the successor to the Organized Crime Agency of B.C.

"The telephone company, or Shaw Cable or ICBC, that's an example where they've just got this wide-range of contacts ... where they can just make a phone call and get something done, if they need to, for example, run a licence plate," Richards said.

[. . . . ] But not all the old-timers are members just for the camaraderie. Some are masters of setting up shell companies to manipulate the stock market in what are called "pump and dump" schemes -- buying shares to drive up price, then selling before the price begins dropping, police say.

[. . . . ] Some officers feel their superiors blew two rare chances in the past decade to turn insiders into informants and bust some top-level H**** Ang*** and other high-echelon gangsters.

One of the most shocking examples of how police dropped the ball was the Western Wind debacle, detailed in the recent book The Road to Hell: How the Biker Gangs are Conquering Canada. Written by Julian Sher and William Marsden, the book explains how the RCMP in B.C. had a chance to nail drug-dealers for $330 million worth of cocaine when a Vancouver Island fisherman offered to help the Mounties intercept a drug shipment between Colombians and the H**** Ang*** aboard the vessel Western Wind, which was headed for Victoria.

The fisherman wanted to be paid $1 million and be placed in witness protection, but the RCMP declined the offer; U.S. authorities intercepted the boat loaded with more than two tonnes of cocaine, but no one was ever charged, says the book, which contains sharp criticism of the RCMP's handling of the botched case.

One of those who worked on the Western Wind file was former RCMP officer Pat Convey, now an inspector with the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit. Convey was among those critical in the book of the handling of the case. "It happened and I'm not going to go into it again," he said in an interview. "Yes, I got my knuckles rapped [for speaking out in the book]. I'm not in the RCMP any more." [. . . . ]

Note that last sentence. It has happened to others who were doing their jobs.

Link and other articles:

If you get the Vancouver Sun, check for Angels' B.C. holdings are extensive -- subscriber only content

In the 3900-block of East Hastings in Burnaby, you can buy a cappuccino at Big Shots Cafe and go across the street to get the latest hip-hop styles at Digstown clothing.

Check for these articles in the Vancouver Sun series:

Sept. 17, 04 "GANG SLAYINGS: A former Indo-Canadian gangster has details on a series of unsolved murders"

Sept. 18, 04 "Young & violent: Drug-smuggling and the extreme violence of Indo-Canadian gangs"

There may be information additional to or different from the following article which was in the National Post.


I had no choice but to kill -- A former member of the 'Indo-Canadian mafia' in B.C. admits he had a hit put out on his boss -- "Bal Buttar, now a 28-year-old blind quadriplegic" has "found God", is talking, but not giving the necessary details -- figures not much more can be done to him -- Sept. 17, 2004

I had no choice but to kill -- A former member of the 'Indo-Canadian mafia' in B.C. admits he had a hit put out on his boss Kim Bolan, CanWest News Service; (The Vancouver Sun), Sept. 17, 2004

[. . . . ] In the mid-1990s, Johal founded a shadowy, five-member hit squad called "the Elite," which is responsible for 25 to 30 murders, Buttar said, refusing to name any team members.

Johal controlled the Elite, but would pass that control to Buttar and others at various times, he said.

Johal ordered Buttar to arrange the July, 1998 Vancouver murder of Vinuse News MacKenzie and the unsuccessful October, 1998 attempt on the life of Johal associate Peter Gill, he said.

"I didn't want to do this job that Bindy gave me to do. Before, when I was in jail with Bindy, Bindy told me you are going to be the one underneath me. You listen to me. If you take care of things at your end, I'll be happy with you, brother. If you f--- me over, I'll kill you. Right."

It was the Elite Buttar turned to in December, 1998 to gun down Johal at a Vancouver nightclub.

Buttar said he also used the Elite "a few times" more after he took over Johal's criminal empire.

He admitted to being "the middleman" who arranged for the Elite to kill 25-year-old Kuldip Singh in September, 1999. Buttar said the other victim in the Richmond shooting, Vikash Naidu, was not the target. [. . . . ]

"The elite is still out there," Buttar said. "I'm still friends with them."

Despite all the murders of Indo-Canadian mafia kingpins, Buttar believes the problem of gangsterism in his community is increasing.

All of the crew members trained by Johal and later Buttar have formed their own crews.

"All these guys are dying over greed, power. They want to go create their own power struggle. That is what it is -- a power struggle. Jump on top real fast. You know if you jump on top real fast, these people make you lots of money," he said.

There is much more in this article on the Indo-Canadian mafia and how it works.


Gang violence hits home -- The Times Colonist and the Vancouver Sun are investigating organized crime in B.C. in a series of stories. Today we examine the threat of Indo-Canadian gangs -- Sept. 18, 2004

Gang violence hits home -- The Times Colonist and the Vancouver Sun are investigating organized crime in B.C. in a series of stories. Today we examine the threat of Indo-Canadian gangs. Gerard Young, Times Colonist, Sept. 18, 2004

Canada's co-ordinated criminal investigation service has all sorts of intelligence on groups such as biker gangs, Eastern Europeans, Asian gangs and the Mafia. But less is known about Indo-Canadian criminal groups which tend to be loosely based packs of family or close friends.

They are usually lower level drug dealers, a bit more sophisticated than those at the street level. And they seem to come from a far different background than most criminals, said Charlton.

Rideout refers to the young male Indo-Canadian criminals as "mama's boys" who often live at home or close to parents.

"One moment they are involved in crime and the next they are sitting down to dinner with the extended family," he said.

These close ties to community may be what allows Indo-Canadian criminals to keep a lower profile than others such as the H**** A*****, said Sgt. Bob Martin, head of Victoria police's four-member gang unit. One unit member is responsible for monitoring Indo-Canadian crime movement.

[. . . . ] Although there is speculation, it is not entirely clear why Indo-Canadian criminals are frequenting Greater Victoria.

It's generally not that they are laying low. Intelligence indicates those facing possible retribution for matters such as stealing drugs from other gangs head to India for a few months to avoid the heat.

[. . . . ] While some criminals come from an impoverished or rough childhood, the reverse is often the case for Indo-Canadians who enjoy fast cars and pockets full of money despite not having jobs.

Their hard-working parents may have spoiled them, allowing them to drift toward crime out of boredom, a desire to live in the fast lane or youthful bravado, said Charlton.

Whatever else they get into, there is a common thread running through most of their activities.

"It all boils down to drugs," Martin said, saying the violence and other crimes are the side effects.

Overwhelmingly, the fighting or shootings occurs between Indo-Canadians. [. . . . ]

Link to see the information on B.C.'S ORGANIZED CRIME FAMILIES including the following:

OUTLAW MOTORCYCLE GANGS/H**** A*****
ASIAN
EASTERN EUROPEAN
INDEPENDENTS AND INDO-CANADIANS
TRADITIONAL(ITALIAN-BASED) ORGANIZATIONS


Thought Provoking: Safe strolls and brothels would reduce risks for prostitutes -- Sept. 17, 2004

Safe strolls and brothels would reduce risks for prostitutes Vancouver Sun, Sept. 17, 2004

You will have to link to the entire article for information on why targetting pimps and johns apparently does not work. Put this together with the article on the "businesses" our OMG's are engaged in and it seems that, to accomplish anything would require a massive infusion of police officers and money -- as well as will.

Note who is no longer an RCMP officer in B.C.'s H**** Ang***: Rich and Powerful Lori Culbert and Neal Hall, Judith Lavoie, Vancouver Sun and Victoria Times Colonist, September 11, 2004.

Didn't ex RCMP Staff Sgt. Stenhouse make recommendations on how to deal with these "businessmen"?

[. . . . ] The decision to cease laying bawdy-house charges seems to have had a positive effect in that it forced prostitutes indoors where they're relatively safe. Yet the most desperate prostitutes and the ones who face the greatest risk of abuse -- addicts who turn tricks to get money for drugs (survival sex) -- are unlikely to be hired by an escort agency.

So the most desperate prostitutes are driven back to the street, where their desperation grows. In an ideal world, no prostitutes would have to work the street to survive, but despite the best efforts of social workers, some prostitutes remain there.

Recognizing this reality, the creation of a "safe stroll" -- an outside area where prostitutes can legally ply their trade -- could literally save the lives of the most disadvantaged prostitutes.

Although most North American experiments with safe strolls and red- light districts have failed, the failure is largely the result of the community and police taking a hands-off approach. In Holland, police, social workers and medical personnel play an active role within red-light districts, which ensures the safety of the most disadvantaged prostitutes, provides them with resources to get off the street and makes it easier to find underage prostitutes.

There will be considerable community opposition to the creation of safe strolls, but like regulated brothels, strolls already exist -- they're just not safe. Legal reform that recognizes indoor prostitution and safe strolls won't legitimize prostitution, but could help prostitutes to leave the street and in so doing, save their lives. [. . . . ]

Pot laws need thorough overhaul -- Coleman should be pushing Ottawa for change, not harassing B.C.'s municipal politicians -- Sept. 13, 04

Pot laws need thorough overhaul -- Coleman should be pushing Ottawa for change, not harassing B.C.'s municipal politicians Times Colonist, September 13, 2004

To a tough former cop like Solicitor General Rich Coleman, watching people buying pot over the counter is an affront.

Coleman says it's still against the law for marijuana to be sold, but that's not entirely true. The sale of marijuana for medical purposes is legal. But because the government hasn't been able to supply the drug to those who need it, the Ontario Court of Appeal has essentially said they can get it wherever they can find it.

So "compassion clubs" have been operating openly in Victoria and Vancouver, distributing pot to users who simply are asked to sign a bit of paper saying they need it for medical purposes. Police in Vancouver last week finally began charging some, but when police in Victoria have laid charges the courts have stayed them.

[. . . . ] Everyone knows the law has to be changed. Distribution for medical purposes is a shambles. One-third of patients acquiring marijuana grown under Health Canada supervision are sending it back because it's too weak and burns too hot.

In Quebec, the government is pardoning first-time possessors of small amounts of pot. Statistics Canada says almost three in 10 teenagers are using it. And the law is being enforced so arbitrarily that while store-owners are not being prosecuted for selling the drug, others are being sent to prison for three months for passing a joint around.

Decriminalizing possession of a few grams won't stop trafficking. Users will still be breaking the law. Enforcement will go up because police will feel the punishment is more appropriate. Fines will be as arbitrary as convictions are today. [. . . . ]

Background for CNN, "Northern border and terrorists", 10 PM Oct. 11, 04

Reminder: CNN 10 PM tonight -- "Northern border and terrorists"

1999: LAW ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS AT THE BORDER BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: DRUG SMUGGLING, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND TERRORISM

2004: Remember the above problems were in 1999 prior to Ressam and 9/11. Today, law enforcement are still short about 2500 RCMP officers. Take this in context with the CNN program at 10:00pm tonight.

Some information before the program might be in order. Link and read the whole or at least, skim this.

LAW ENFORCEMENT PROBLEMS AT THE BORDER BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA: DRUG SMUGGLING, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AND TERRORISM 2000 HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND CLAIMS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, APRIL 14, 1999, Serial No. 17

[. . . . ] This subcommittee has never held a hearing specifically addressing the northern border. In recent years, there have been an increasing number of reports highlighting the lack of Federal resources on the northern border and the resulting threat to U.S. national security and community safety. Three threats need to be addressed: drug smuggling, illegal immigration and terrorism. All these threats are exacerbated by the lack of resources on the northern border. In fact, the Border Patrol currently has only 289 agents along the 3,500 mile northern border. It is obvious that if we do not know who comes into our country, we do not know what comes into our country, like illegal drugs. A porous border is an open invitation for illegal drug smugglers and for terrorists and their goal of mass destruction.

Drug smuggling at the northern border is a significant concern. Numerous articles have documented the alarming rise in the smuggling of a type of highly potent marijuana grown indoors in British Columbia. This marijuana is five times as potent as regular marijuana and is more likely to increase drug addiction.

[. . . . ] What about illegal immigration? In fiscal year 1998, fewer than 300 agents apprehended 12,146 aliens attempting illegal entry. The question is, of course, how many did they miss? So few agents cannot monitor a border thousands of miles long, 24 hours every day. The Border Patrol knows that the drug and alien smugglers monitor the Border Patrol's shifts and simply wait until agents go off duty.

[. . . . ] It may surprise many people to learn that Mexican nationals can enter Canada without visas, so it is often cheaper for them to fly to Canada and walk across the northern border than to have smugglers bring them across the southern border.

The number of Asian nationals being smuggled into the U.S. also is increasing. Regarding third country nationals, Canadians themselves make up the fourth largest group of illegal aliens in the U.S.

One of the most dangerous threats to our national security is the risk of a terrorist crossing our northern border undetected. This happened in 1997 when Gazi Ibrahim Abu Mezer crossed the northern border and attempted to blow up the New York subway system. In this case, the terrorist was caught before the crime was carried out. Next time, we may not be so fortunate. Since 1995, there have been at least 13 other cases of terrorists crossing the border from Canada, two in Blaine, Washington alone.

In 1998, the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service acknowledged the presence of 50 terrorist organizations in Canada and outlined their activities: fundraising in aid of terrorism, smuggling, providing logistical support for terrorist acts and providing transit to and from the United States, ''one of the world's pre-eminent terrorist targets.''

[. . . . ]

There is more, but this will give you some idea before the program why the US is concerned about the northern border with Canada.

Bud: CNN Program, Ribbons, Corporate Rats Leave Toronto, Throne Speech, The Overrated

Reminder:

CNN Monday 10:00pm -- "Northern border and terrorists"

List of Articles:

* Am I the only one who is tired of the ribbons?

* Are the corporate rats leaving the Good Ship Toronto?

* The Throne Speech--a modest critique

* Let's talk about the overrated--I'm bored and they are part of my problem.


Am I the only one who is tired of the ribbons?

It started with "tie a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree" to commemorate soldiers? some U.S. battle?--Vietnam?--and blossomed from there. Now we have have a coloured ribbon for every cause. Pink for breast cancer -- lavender, for what? AIDS? -- some other colour for the patriarchal massacre of women. The fact that most AIDS occurs through wildly promiscuous sex or that junkies share needles seems to make no difference. We are in fact being asked to subsidize irrational behaviour. In terms of the ribbons for male violence, we are assaulted with the suggestion that one Algerian-Canadian's rampage in Montreal should stick to every Canadian male. Now breast cancer, that is a disease that we can all get behind. But sticking with the "behind" word, we don't have a brown ribbon to help fight colo-rectal cancer which is the next in line for mortality in both women and men. Having survived a few health skirmishes, I want to nominate the next ribbon campaign, the ribbon that has little aneurysm nodules, distreet little nodules, that after wearing the ribbon for a month, burst. I am sure that you good folks can come up with your own ribbons--for carbuncles that you slip on to your big toe, milky-white ones for prostate cancer -- the possibilities are endless.

© Bud Talkinghorn


Are the corporate rats leaving the Good Ship Toronto?

The departure of Imperial Oil for Calgary was only one of 18 other head offices that went elsewhere in the last 20 years. The reason for this exodus is primarily high taxes, but it includes quality of life issues as well. Violent crime is escalating and the cost of downtown entertainment is becoming overly expensive. Then there are the preposterously inflated housing prices. According to a National Post article, "Toronto feeling the strain" by Peter Kuitenbrouwer (Oct. 2, FP1) a standard two story house now costs on average $466,000, up from $277,000 five years ago. The poor ethnic immigrants that flood into Toronto can't even think about buying those homes, so they end up in highrise apartments, or rundown rooming houses, which in some areas reminded me of the ghettoes in Philadelphia. This migration to Toronto is disastrous, as there are practically no new jobs for them. The city has only gained 100 new jobs in the last four years! To make matters worse, the mainly immigrant taxi drivers are being told by city hall to have taxis no older than three years. This will throw the majority out of work, or the taxi fares will have to skyrocket.

I was there on business for several days a few years ago. Luckily, the company gave me a big old New Yorker to ferry me around much of Toronto. I remember thinking how soulless the city was. It was like a giant strip mall, whose blandness was only blotted out on smog days. In the great cities of the world such as Rio, Amsterdam, or Hong Kong there is a spirit that is unique. They appeal to your innate sense of wonder about different lifestyles. It is hard to get bored in them. After my third day in Toronto, it had became a yawnfest. When my stint there was over, I was glad to leave. I do not think I would leave Vancouver to even visit Toronto, let alone actually live there. Hongcouver may have its warts, but it has some distinctiveness. And you don't have to shovel rain, or be blinded by smog.

© Bud Talkinghorn


The Throne Speech--a modest critique

Not having taken notes on it, I speak from memory. First impressions: I found it mildly ironic that the ceremony started off with Governor General Clarkson sitting in the Senate chambers with the ermine-robed Supremes front and center, ironic because the actual law-making politicians can be cowed by the Supremes' rulings. This was a crimson power group, with its two new socially "progressive"--pro-gay "marriage"--Supremes fully bristling with ideas, no doubt, on how to alter our traditional culture beyond recognition. It was duly noted that all the major pronouncements were given in French first. This is apt, as the CBC had previously given a segment on the Frenchification of the Federal Civil Service. It used to be that the civil service gave employees on the job language training; now they demand that fluency before a person even applies for a job. Hello Quebec, goodbye the West. However, this is fitting in a way, as our PM is basically a francophone; vast numbers of key cabinet ministers are francophones, and francophone Quebec will always get the lion's share of federal money. To carry this absurd obsequiousness forward, we have a government that didn't care that their cultural minister, Ms. Frulla--a Quebec MP--has decided that the Quebec cultural minister can represent Canada in international forums.

And what's up with John Ralston Saul's funky jacket? A cynic would suggest political correctness, an I-am-one-with-the-rez statement. But away from fashion and on with the meat of the speech. Aboriginals were the big winners. Their concerns and the billions that would be needed to address their pathologies got a lot of play. Metis and Inuit can now join the government's potlatch ceremony. We will have billions more shovelled their way and . . . their pathologies will disappear. That is the government's rationale anyway. I don't think so. An old statistic has stayed in my head. After the James Bay project's huge pay-off to a few thousand Cree, the natives set up 22 businesses. Within a few years only one was still in operation. Economically, there simply isn't the population base in these small reserves to make a go of it. They are too far from major markets and they have never truely utilized their freebie university opportunities. Then, as I have observed first-hand, there are unbelievable tensions between families on their reserves. If you are the minority power group, the rest will boycott your business. Bingo! You go down in flames. More federal money won't stem the same dismal results is my guess. And now we have the Metis attaching themselves to the federal teat.

The blah, blah about regional programs kept echoing in my head as Quebec, Quebec. Kyoto was given lip service, but will have to be delayed (indefinitely) to implement the other big ticket items like universal daycare. On the health problem, the main thing I saw was a desire to recognize foreign doctors. I have seen first-hand the incredible corruption that exists in the university systems of the Third World. If you are wealthy enough and need to, you just buy your degree. Do we want these people poking knives into us? It is not that all immigrant doctors are inept, it is our government that is inept and will not spot the incompetent ones. I noticed that Martin's "asymmetrical" health agreement with Quebec did not get honourable mention in the speech. Maybe the entire speech was best summed up by a National Citizen's Coalition spokesman who called it "A love letter from the Liberals to the NDP."

© Bud Talkinghorn


Let's talk about the overrated--I'm bored and they are part of my problem.

The National Post is running a series on the overrated. Unfortunately, bloggers were worthy of a long companion piece. This piece claimed we bloggers think we are the zeitgeist of all that is journalistically worthwhile. It is worth remembering that this critique was written by a print journalist--a little fear factor popping up per chance? The major complaint is that we use the traditional media for most of our information. Damn right we do. They get paid, we don't. The fact that we continue to post, despite no remuneration, shows that we speak from the heart and mind. I don't have any editorial constraint (Well my partner weighs in occasionally). When I write about an issue, that is my opinion and it doesn't get sanded-down to some 'sensitive' message that will get more readers. The media have their advertisers to think of, as well as every activist lobby group. Bloggers don't.

Leaving the print media aside, we bloggers fill in the blanks that TV "news" gives us--cue the bombing scene. Or in the case of the CBC, all the news that they suppress or distort--because they think they are the rightful arbiters of what is politically correct to report. I used to try to stay on message and review the headline stories, until it dawned on me that there was a whole subtext to these happenings. Why did the world stand impotent while the millions died in the Congo and Darfur? Why do we allow the CBC to spend a billion to feed us social engineering? We dare tackle issues that the mainstream press wouldn't touch without a bank of lawyers at their side -- for instance, showing how Kosovo and Bosnia have degenerated into lawlessmess and a major recruiting ground for al-Queda. Do we really doubt that Milosovich saw the same development arising and made an American-style pre-emptive strike? Try floating that perspective in the traditional media. So, we are free from the tyranny of censorship, at least temporarily. The writer of the piece compared us to the phone-in callers to radio. Yes, but the blogger does not have a one minute limit to state his views. We can spin it out the way we want and with no deadline.

Enough about our overrated bloggerati, let's get down to what is really overrated.

I can't beat one writer who nominated John Ralston Saul and his literary hackery. I confess I once read one of his books. If I had had my trusty rubber stamp from a previous life, I would have stamped the book with "Stupifying rubbish!". I honestly cannot even remember the book's title. The contents were straight from a leftie's hallucinations. So John wins the prize, but other notable candidates are in the race. Shania Twain has to rank up there in the overhyped. I enjoy some country music; however, I can't help but see her as a symbol of country-lite. Is the woman beautiful? Without question, and I loved how her detractors maintained that she had stagefright and wouldn't perform live. To their chagrin, she did start touring and totally blew away her competition. But one still wishes that Shania had met and wed Waylon Jennings, or Willy Nelson. If she wanted to be picky, she could have married Kris Kristofferen. Then there is Andy Warhol, who predicted that everyone would get his 15 minutes of fame. The joke there is that Andy, who only deserved 15 mimutes got 15 years of publicity. Bring out the hook and drag this guy's corpse off the stage. Please!

There is also the entire contingent of poseurs that the media pushes forward as the "new" Dylan, or The Stones, or The Beatles. I accept my own personal prejudices are not God-given--The Dillards anyone?-- nevertheless, these guys could all move your feet. Music that you wanted to do the dishes to. I gave Beck, Radiohead, and even Avril Lavigne--forgive me father, for I have sinned--a chance. A sorry lot indeed.

Just to change the topic for a moment, the National Post should run a sequel of the underappreciated. While the Beatles were sheer geniouses, so were Simon and Garfunkel--with heavy emphasis on Simon. Every live Central Park concert proclaims Simon's on-going musical brilliance. He practically invented world music. When he sings Rhythm of the Saints, I am right on the sidewalks of Copacabana, listening to the dynamite passando samba trios. It has that raw energy of the street bands. I sense I am getting carried away here, the list being endless. Therefore, I shall limit myself to the newly-designated role of lowly blogger scribe. A short list of the undeserving with a bit of thanksgiving thrown in:

* Madonna-- Either join Paris Hilton in porno or get off the stage. Your shtick is getting old, already.

* Donald Trump--You're fired!

* Senator John Edwards--Thanks for the hefty increase in medical insurance

* Jean Chretien--Thank you for restoring my faith in the democratic system by fulfilling your promise to clean up government

* The CBC--Thanks for teaching me the "right" way of thinking

* The UN --for once again showing how useless you are

* All the individual Beatles--who never lived up to Ringo's role in continuing the rock'n'roll tradition

* The 'universal health care system'--The jammed waiting rooms in the ER says it all.

* The Liberals' supposed monetary financing for endless fixings of our social problems. FDR had it right when he promised a "chicken in every pot". Don't get too fancy.

* Chistmas--Let's just power down on the shrimp in cream with exotic liqueurs at home and skip the enforced pleasantries with hated members of the family over the turkey. As the one of the new Supremes quipped "Friends are God's apology for giving us family"--or something to that effect.

© Bud Talkinghorn--I leave on that up-beat note. Up the bloggeratti!