Wednesday, April 18, 2007

 

Now just a goldarn minute here ...

.
Look, we can't start following the most important political trial in British Columbia's history with self-serving, manipulative statements like this one from today's Vancouver Sun ... right at the end:

Corruption trial of former government aides begins today

Vancouver Sun
Wednesday, April 18, 2007

VANCOUVER - The criminal corruption trial of two former senior government aides begins today in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

Dave Basi and Bob Virk are accused of accepting bribes, fraud and breach of trust in connection with their role in the $1-billion sale of BC Rail operations to Canadian National Railway in November 2003. {Snip}


At one point, police inadvertently listened to a phone conversation between the finance minister and Premier Gordon Campbell. The police have repeatedly said no politicians were ever suspected of wrongdoing.

Full story:
http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=f4bfc707-6282-4f2b-a869-c49b738665ed&k=68350


Now let me ask the reader: how stupid does CanWest think we are? Sure, it's true that the police from the first 24 hours after the raid, tried to reassure the public by saying that no elected politicians were under investigation. But obviously -- and quite properly -- there had to be later investigations which included the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Transportation, possibly the Premier, and others. The police even have wire taps on former Cabinet Ministers. The public should worry if these key players hadn't been checked out.

So what in blue blazes does this CanWest statement mean: The police have repeatedly said no politicians were ever suspected of wrongdoing? Is CanWest saying that the Cabinet was in Tahiti throughout the sale of B.C. Rail and knew nothing -- absolutely nothing -- about how it got sold? Is CanWest messing with our heads?

If so, what's next? Tomorrow, the verdict? - BC Mary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comments:
Excellent point Mary. This makes the debruyckere angle even more important. How can he be in charge of an investigation that doesn't include cabinet ministers, campbell or his brother in law reichart?
 
hi just a reminder that when those sun stories are achived a day or 2 later they are no longer available on their website so it is better just to post the entire article. Thanks. You do great work.
 
Mary,
I can hear the violins in the background at the Ville Del Lupo. If Collins wasn't a suspect what were all the spooks doing hiding behind the Arras that day?

I don't suppose that Gary was talking to the bashful Pat Broe about how Broe had picked up the Port of Churchill for $8. in 1997 do you?

I read that story originally in Der Spiegel but I think Time may have covered it too.

I think we need to remember that the Vancouver Sun hasn't really been at the cutting edge for any of this little drama.

I think, actually, that the public interest is being served far more responsibly by some citizen journalists. I hope a few of them are in court today to hear the start of the final wrangling over disclosure.
 
It's sort of like the story" My dog ate the homework. Our Premier was on the CBD radio telling us how he is pleased to see the case in court but since it's before the court he cannot commnent further. Let's see what transpires when folks are under oath. But let's also rememebr all parites are inncocent till proved other wise. Keep the tar and feathers warmed up or lets not jump to the position of shoot first then stat the trial. dl
 
Mary - Great point.

How can the RCMP claim that no elected official was under investigation when the conducted a major surveillance operation of a sitting finance minister?

Those comments totally prejudge the investigation and should be challenged by the defence.
 
.
Anonymous 10:50 -- I'd love to post the whole story; it'd be much easier, too. But ya want to get me in trouble? Copyright law -- which is a good law -- stipulates that an intellectual property is owned by its author and that nobody else, except with permission (usually paid permission) of the author, can use it. OK? Yes, I could seek permission but by the time I got it -- if I got it -- it'd be old news. It's way better imo to give you a clue what's in the story and trust you to click on the rest of it. That's an accepted procedure. And two days oughta do it, eh?

Hey, anon 11:14, I can hear those violins playing as we speak. And oh, the food, the wine at the elegant Wolf's House. Of course [thumps desk] the Minister of Finance was under police observation -- heavy police surveillance -- so what is CanWest trying to do but plant (Plant?) a different idea in our heads. This is an abrogation of a newspaper's duty, if you ask me.

As for you, my dear loyal dl, for chrissakes, nobody on this blog -- NOBODY -- has ever been allowed to assign guilt or to talk about tar and feathers. I hate it when you keep telling us to stop doing what we're clearly and proudly NOT DOING. So will ya quit that stuff?

And [ahem ...] in closing ... may I say to one and all that there will be tense days ahead for British Columbia and we must try to be kind to one another. Well, OK, BC Mary will try harder. Promise.

There's so much to thank you all for, really.
.
.
 
I stand chasitized I guess for mentioning the old innocent tll proven guilty bit. If my memeory serves me some folks do assign guilt on this blog from time to time as on othe blogs. The Finance Minister of the day was observed in some public place talking to someone from a company. It was reported at least in court. are any of the parites at the table doing wrong? are they chaged wit anything? as fas as I have seen or heard, NO.
Well we will have to wait and see if it comes up.

If the folks who make a living reading blogs it stands to reason the comments might end up in higher places.

I don't for one minute suggest you personally are biased for or against these citizens' But the excitment of the long awaited case getting down to being covered by others can have folks say strange things.

If so. what's next? Tommorrow, the verdict? BC Mary.

I earlier decided to not enter anything on this site and have now, since the case is before the court , just like the Premier, will make no further comments.

The cop fopund guilty of telling folks to lie, is trying for an Appeal . None of us would like to see some laywer argiung hearsay in such a case.
Off to better things. I remain

D.Love CD
 
D.Love CD ... maybe those points do need more light shed upon them.

To say that somebody is a suspect is in no way to say that they are guilty of a crime. Everybody who had anything to do with negotiating the sale of B.C. Rail should have been investigated and either crossed off the police to-do list or charged. Anything less would have been a flawed police procedure, in my view.

Similarly, to say that somebody has never been suspected of wrongdoing is another way of saying that they are completely innocent which, given these circumstances, is misleading at best, and in my opinion, deliberately misleading.

Why in the world were the police putting so much surveillance on that dinner at Villa del Lupa if somebody at Gary Collins' table wasn't worthy of investigation? Or if their conversation might not lead to guilty parties? And D., this is NOT assigning guilt as you well know.

Nobody is putting forward hearsay as evidence here.

But I think it's counter-productive to search for reasons why we should all to sit with bags over our heads afraid to look or speak as the evidence comes out under oath and is available on the street in newspapers.

I'd also like to say that there's no law (as yet) which says that a law-abiding citizen can't arrive at his own conclusion that X or Y might possibly be guilty -- as long as the citizen doesn't say that out loud and doesn't jeopardize the reputation of X or Y with such an unproven opinion. Like, we're OK trying to think for ourselves in Canada. OK?

But absolutely, we must talk about the B.C. Rail Case. We must help one another figure it out, just as you and I are doing right now.

Conversation is healthy! Plus, it makes me crazy when people are deliberately bamboozled and then get blamed for being bamboozled.

We need you and your steady thinking, DPL. So you're coming back, OK? ... because, after all, it ain't you and I who are on trial here. Just you remember that, no matter what.
.
 
bc mary, if canwest claims that the police repeatedly say that no politians are suspected of any wrongdoing-they should be able to support that with a quote from a particular police officer and where this info was given out. It would be nice to know who actually said so.
 
Thank you BC Mary & Bill T & Hugs, too!! It makes my heart sing to see the facts being presented.

Canwest continues its sanitizing on all things factual that smack of cover-up & collusion between the RCMP & the B.C. Libs via the pathetically obvious pipeline to Kelly Reichart through to Campbell. What a sad state this excuse for news coverage this CanWest/Corus conglomerate has become. I remember the good old days with Allan Fotheringham where we got the truth with intelligence.

A little birdie chirped in my ear that ,Canwest is covering another political bombshell connected to the RCMP & B.C. Lib/ Concert Properties, controlled Vanoc which will blow open another cesspool of corruption.

"This makes the debruyckere angle even more important." Exactly, John.

Seems this RCMP team player was also handed another file that has been deep sixed.
 
For the record, today . . . Neal Hall, one of the few journalists I respect at the Sun, actually managed to print Inspector DeBruyckere's name in his well written column. His editors must be getting the message that you cannot serve your readers by sanitizing the truth.
 
Post a Comment



<< Home