Okay, the woman represents 'the people' and her purse represents 'common assets'

It Brings a Tear to my Eye, a Beer to my Hand, and a Gnashing of Teeth (Not to Mention the Renting of Garments)

Outrageous, scandalous reading - perfidy, even - on local political blogs

(Vancouver, BC) - Yeah, politics is limited to nerds with bleeding hearts or thieves in suits - the players seem to be restricted to one or the other of these two narrow groups despite the fact it effects every single one of us. And it does, from urban planning (laying an asphalt city over the best loam in the world in Richmond - 10,000 years to create it and 40 years to fuck it up forever), resource management (why do you get to collect and sell the oil to everyone else - shouldn't it belong to everybody?), to culture and war (we underfund arts and misuse the military), to teaching children to read history, mathematics and art, to plain old police, enforcement of the law, and public order (we're not all brave enough to punch hooligans in the face or use a two by four to stop a murderer from completing his or her crime - thanks copper!)

I have a secret to share with you which I will deny in public for as long as I live (seriously - you never read this); in the eighties I voted for the Progressive Conservative candidates in Vancouver Centre in the first couple or three elections I was eligible to vote: Pat Carney and Kim Campbell. I voted for them because I thought they were capable and talented individuals (and I still do) who would represent the common interests well (and I stand corrected on this point). And they promised to fix the public debt, which even then had spiralled out of control like former sex symbol Gerard Depardieu's weight.

However, when Brian Mulroney left office (after a disappointing position on the Gulf War, a disastous negotiation on NAFTA) the debt was worse than ever and I realized that I needed to pay closer attention to the actual policy decisions made by The Man and it's been a slow slide into becoming a nerdy bleeding heart for me to this day.

Which brings me to Bill Tieleman and Sean Holman not because they are bleeding hearts or anything like it but because they both have excellent local political blogs that are dropping the shit right into the blades of the fan. I've been hurrying home from work to crack open a beer and read the latest revelations.

Remember the raids of the BC Legislature? Remember the sale of the BC Rail? Remember the Liberal promise of the 'most open and accountable government'? Well, the thieves with suits pushed the nerds with bleeding hearts and wishy washy ideas out of office with the promise of making us all rich except when they said all of us they actually meant a handful of them. Who wants to pay taxes when paying taxes means making four dozen guys rich so they can then skip town and leave unfunded the problems of homelessness, increased personal debt, terrible housing for low-income, a crumbling infrastructure in urban centres, disorganized medical care and overworked health care providers, etc, etc ad fucking nauseum? And when they skip town it'll be to Hawaii where they'll sit in their boxer shorts and black socks held up by garters while the catering staff prepare the appetizers and chill the wine for a soiree with the Archbishop and shallow talk of compassion and freedom (sure, the picture is a cheap shot but I wasn't able to spit on Mulroney before he left office so I'm piling it on Campbell - with apologies to his mom - a nice woman - and I'm not kidding about the catered evening either).

Click here to read and subscribe to Bill Tieleman. And click here to read and subscribe to Sean Holman.

And all you kids who just sit and whine...

xoxo

M

The Facts in Dispute Continue to Thwart My Deepest Wishes

The BC Legislature trial hints at high level political corruption but just might not deliver

Okay, after reading this Globe and Mail article former BC solicitor general Rich Coleman has the benefit of my doubt once more :

Heated investigation required mediator
Competing RCMP teams had to be talked through dispute over diverging theories on suspects
MARK HUME

May 8, 2007

VANCOUVER -- Separate RCMP teams pursuing parallel drug and breach-of-trust investigations became so intensely competitive that a mediator had to be called in to keep them both on track, a Crown attorney in a political-corruption case told the Supreme Court of British Columbia yesterday.

Janet Winteringham, a member of the special prosecution team, talked about the internal police conflict as she opened the Crown's response to defence submissions made during the past two weeks.

Ms. Winteringham told Madam Justice Elizabeth Bennett that the arguments the defence had put before the court were based on "a multiplicity of disputed facts ... [and] a number of inaccurate statements."

She said lawyers representing three government employees charged with breach of trust, fraud and money laundering related to the privatization of BC Rail presented a misleading picture based on an incomplete record of events.

For the rest of the article click here.

Bill Tieleman blogs about the court case and emphasizes a different aspect of Winteringham's presentation yesterday here.

Former Solicitor General Coleman - 'j'accuse'

Michael Bolton (the defense lawyer, not the singer) alleges...

From the Globe and Mail
VANCOUVER — The solicitor general of British Columbia “intervened” in a politically explosive RCMP investigation by heading off police before they could interview one of the most powerful members of cabinet, the Supreme Court of British Columbia was told yesterday.

Defence lawyer Michael Bolton said an RCMP investigative team was set to fly to Hawaii to track down Gary Collins, then finance minister, the day after police raided the B.C. legislature on Dec. 28, 2003.

Read the rest of the article by clicking here

Michael Bolton is the author of Civil Rights in Canada and the only lawyer out of 12 who answered 'yes' to my question 'do you like being a lawyer'.

I never met Rich Coleman.

MVL

Steal these public assets

You call it 'free enterprise Liberalism' I call it 'screwing the commoner'

(Vancouver, BC) Has anyone been following the story about the raids in the BC Legislature a few years ago? Probably not. There hasn't been anything like the media attention given Glen Clark's trouble (he was cleared of wrong-doing although the Justice said he behaved like an idiot) or the so-called 'fudge it budget' ( I originally wrote that the auditor general studied it and declared that it wasn't but click here for what Morfitt is reported have actually said).

Bill Tieleman has been following the story and reporting on it in his blog. Click here. The BC Rail deal might not have been as clean as we should expect from a government of the people. It also hints at a 'dirty tricks' political campaign (remember Nixon) within the highest level of the Liberal party. And apparently the Justice in the case is not pleased that 'full disclosure' means something different to the Crown prosecutors than it means to the rest of the legal profession. All in all, it appears at first glance that something is rotten in Denmark. And when I say rotten I mean 'corrupt' and when I say Denmark I mean...well, you know.

It all makes interesting reading, especially when the members of the Legislature are about to vote themselves a 29% pay raise. What? Can't a politician make a decent living through influence pedaling, bribery and stealing public assets anymore?!

Pity.

MVL

Marc Emery Went To Jail and All I Got Was a Lousy T-Shirt

Whose Drug Laws Are They Anyway?

I can't weigh in on this too heavily (yet) because I'm not sure what case is being made by the US federal prosecutors against The Vancouver 3 but on the face of it it seems just so unlikely and unjust.

The definition of extradite is: hand over (a person accused or convicted of a crime) to the jurisdiction of the foreign state in which the crime was committed : Greece refused to extradite him to Italy.

The agreement that is in force seems to be the 1976 Extradition Treaty between the United States of America and Canada. The questions I have are: How can the US petition the Canadian government to arrest and extradict a person who is not acting in ways contrary to Canadian laws? Why is a Canadian being prosecuted under USA drug laws for acts commited on Canadian soil?

This is the same US government that apparently won't participate in the International Court and who 'exempts' its soldiers from prosecution for war crimes. (Okay, this paragraph is a bit of a non-sequitur.)

Click here for more information about how to help the Vancouver 3 get a fair shake on their extradition process.

Click here to support the Vancouver 3 by purchasing a T-shirt.

Namaste!

MVL

It's a Shameless Power Grab

Now look me in the eye - I am your leader. No, seriously.

(Vancouver, BC) Yes, my masterplan to eventually become Overlord of All Universes is now finally being set into motion - I am running for a position on the Board of Management of the Britannia Community Centre.

I want to serve on the Board to add my energy to the continuing efforts of making East Vancouver a vibrant and dynamic community, a community dedicated to principles of neighbourliness, caring, and increasing cooperative living. I want to help people continue creating a community where you know and care about the those who live around you and they know and care about you.

So, if you live in the Grandview Woodlands neighbourhood, come on down and renew your membership to Britannia and then on May 23 come to the AGM and cast your votes for 7 positions on the Board. And remember that I'm Your Daddy - please vote accordingly.

Cheers,

MVL