Sunday, November 02, 2008
Puzzles in Organized Crime
.
Sunday morning ... and I was going to post two items about Organized Crime in B.C. But then, at breakfast, I came to this part of the book I'm reading about the RCMP ... it's talking about the Maher Arar case ... but as usual, I kept in mind the BC Rail Case. See what you think, where (P. 132-133) it says:
... The RCMP were never informed about the "official" presence of the U.S. agents and it is not known whether they were officially approved by the Canadian government or not. The FBI agents weren't being escorted by Canadian police, as would be the custom.
"Everyone knows that's what they were doing [stalking terrorist suspects around Toronto and Hamilton]," William McCormack said. "They shouldn't be here doing what they're doing, but the federal government has shown no interest in trying to stop them."
The problem for all the U.S. agents, however, was that they could not conduct an investigation openly, so that's where the Mounties came in. The Canadian government implicitly told the RCMP to fully co-operate with the U.S. agencies, which the Mounties did, to a fault ...
But that was not the only way the FBI and CIA were getting information. The Canadian legal system has evolved in such a way that makes it all but impossible for the police to conduct an investigation without revealing everything they knew or tried to do, to the suspects. In 2002, Canadian courts ruled that the RCMP had to turn over all documents in a case, including the operation plans of any police force involved in an investigation. This decision made it all but impossible for foreign police services like the FBI, who are reluctant to let criminals know how it thinks and operates, to participate in any joint investigation with Canadian police.
"Everyone knows that Canada is a sieve for information," said a leading U.S. authority who asked for confidentiality. "The Canadian legal system is set up to give criminals up-to-date access to police techniques."
The comment in this book, Dispersing the Fog: Inside the secret world of Ottawa and the RCMP, by Paul Palango, got me thinking back .... remember OMNItrax?
Remember the odd little dinner at Villa del Lupa featuring BC's Minister of Finance (Gary Collins), and two OMNItrax officials: Pat Broe and Dwight Johnson, plus a hidden RCMP surveillance team? Remember how that conversation allegedly possibly maybe was about offering a juicy "Consolation Prize" to OMNItrax for allegedly possibly maybe keeping quiet about their suspicions that the sale of BC Rail to CN had been rigged?
In any case, allegedly possibly maybe that odd conversation saved Roberts Bank. We'll know when we hear those surveillance tapes and the RCMP evidence during the Basi-Virk trial.
But ... this morning, a whole new question arose in my mind: could it be that U.S. interests are causing the delays in the BC Rail Case ... delays until the 5-year anniversary when certain other prizes become available to "CN" (also, I understand, largely held by U.S. shareholders) for the princely sum of $1. ?
Oh. Then I thought about how in 2002 the Campbell government replaced the Companies Act with the Business Corporations Act in which one of its many changes was that it strictly prohibits access to the list of shareholders for any company, public and private.
Sometimes, it seems, the only things we can believe are what's not published in the newspapers.
- BC Mary
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An interesting 2004 item dated 3 months after police raided the BC Legislature ...
B.C. Liberals say $1 billion rail deal clean
Canadian Press - Updated March 12, 2004
VICTORIA -- The B.C. Liberal government refused Thursday to put the brakes on its $1-billion sale of Crown-owned B.C. Rail despite opposition taunts that Premier Gordon Campbell's privatization plans are surrounded by police.
RCMP warnings that the bidding process for a B.C. Rail spurline at Roberts Bank near Vancouver might be rigged by people with sensitive government information prompted the Liberals to cancel its sale plans Wednesday ...
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040312/bc_rail_040311?s_name=&no_ads=
________________________________________________________________________
The two Organized Crime stories not posted:
Target criminal fronts: expert
Jason van Rassel
Calgary Herald - Sept. 14, 2008
Cleaning up Calgary's downtown streets also means keeping a close eye on what's happening in the office towers, says an international expert on organized crime ...
Full story at:
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=5f98b030-2098-4882-a0f8-f519ab0cd207
____________________________________________________________
Gang turf wars claim three more victims;
Targeted hits in Surrey and Prince George
appear to be drug related
The Vancouver Sun - 09 Oct 2008
Byline: Kim Bolan
... police resources are often tied up preparing for the court process, which is much more complicated and labour-intensive than it once was because of the prosecution's obligation to disclose everything to the defence.
"It is complicated law. It is extensive disclosure. Those are creating situations that are really allowing the criminal element to flourish here," Cantera said.
And while the shootings and slayings continue, Cantera said the public has to remember that the attacks are targeted.
"The majority of what we are seeing are not random acts of violence. These are targeted squabbles that these individuals are trying to sort out, trying to vie for a position in the drug underworld," he said.
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/realscoop/default.aspx
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Another puzzle for a Sunday morning: why does the U.S. hate Cuba so intensely? Recently I've been testing a new theory. If something a government does is so irrational that no amount of study can explain it ... I try to figure out if it might possibly maybe be the shadowy hand of Organized Crime directing government affairs. Even a quick look at the regime of Fulgencia Baptista which was in place when the Cubans rebelled, will provide some evidence that it's Organized Crime that hates Cuba. Please test this theory over brunch and let me know the results. - BC Mary.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Sunday morning ... and I was going to post two items about Organized Crime in B.C. But then, at breakfast, I came to this part of the book I'm reading about the RCMP ... it's talking about the Maher Arar case ... but as usual, I kept in mind the BC Rail Case. See what you think, where (P. 132-133) it says:
... The RCMP were never informed about the "official" presence of the U.S. agents and it is not known whether they were officially approved by the Canadian government or not. The FBI agents weren't being escorted by Canadian police, as would be the custom.
"Everyone knows that's what they were doing [stalking terrorist suspects around Toronto and Hamilton]," William McCormack said. "They shouldn't be here doing what they're doing, but the federal government has shown no interest in trying to stop them."
The problem for all the U.S. agents, however, was that they could not conduct an investigation openly, so that's where the Mounties came in. The Canadian government implicitly told the RCMP to fully co-operate with the U.S. agencies, which the Mounties did, to a fault ...
But that was not the only way the FBI and CIA were getting information. The Canadian legal system has evolved in such a way that makes it all but impossible for the police to conduct an investigation without revealing everything they knew or tried to do, to the suspects. In 2002, Canadian courts ruled that the RCMP had to turn over all documents in a case, including the operation plans of any police force involved in an investigation. This decision made it all but impossible for foreign police services like the FBI, who are reluctant to let criminals know how it thinks and operates, to participate in any joint investigation with Canadian police.
"Everyone knows that Canada is a sieve for information," said a leading U.S. authority who asked for confidentiality. "The Canadian legal system is set up to give criminals up-to-date access to police techniques."
The comment in this book, Dispersing the Fog: Inside the secret world of Ottawa and the RCMP, by Paul Palango, got me thinking back .... remember OMNItrax?
Remember the odd little dinner at Villa del Lupa featuring BC's Minister of Finance (Gary Collins), and two OMNItrax officials: Pat Broe and Dwight Johnson, plus a hidden RCMP surveillance team? Remember how that conversation allegedly possibly maybe was about offering a juicy "Consolation Prize" to OMNItrax for allegedly possibly maybe keeping quiet about their suspicions that the sale of BC Rail to CN had been rigged?
In any case, allegedly possibly maybe that odd conversation saved Roberts Bank. We'll know when we hear those surveillance tapes and the RCMP evidence during the Basi-Virk trial.
But ... this morning, a whole new question arose in my mind: could it be that U.S. interests are causing the delays in the BC Rail Case ... delays until the 5-year anniversary when certain other prizes become available to "CN" (also, I understand, largely held by U.S. shareholders) for the princely sum of $1. ?
Oh. Then I thought about how in 2002 the Campbell government replaced the Companies Act with the Business Corporations Act
Sometimes, it seems, the only things we can believe are what's not published in the newspapers.
- BC Mary
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
An interesting 2004 item dated 3 months after police raided the BC Legislature ...
B.C. Liberals say $1 billion rail deal clean
Canadian Press - Updated March 12, 2004
VICTORIA -- The B.C. Liberal government refused Thursday to put the brakes on its $1-billion sale of Crown-owned B.C. Rail despite opposition taunts that Premier Gordon Campbell's privatization plans are surrounded by police.
RCMP warnings that the bidding process for a B.C. Rail spurline at Roberts Bank near Vancouver might be rigged by people with sensitive government information prompted the Liberals to cancel its sale plans Wednesday ...
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20040312/bc_rail_040311?s_name=&no_ads=
________________________________________________________________________
The two Organized Crime stories not posted:
Target criminal fronts: expert
Jason van Rassel
Calgary Herald - Sept. 14, 2008
Cleaning up Calgary's downtown streets also means keeping a close eye on what's happening in the office towers, says an international expert on organized crime ...
Full story at:
http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/story.html?id=5f98b030-2098-4882-a0f8-f519ab0cd207
____________________________________________________________
Gang turf wars claim three more victims;
Targeted hits in Surrey and Prince George
appear to be drug related
The Vancouver Sun - 09 Oct 2008
Byline: Kim Bolan
... police resources are often tied up preparing for the court process, which is much more complicated and labour-intensive than it once was because of the prosecution's obligation to disclose everything to the defence.
"It is complicated law. It is extensive disclosure. Those are creating situations that are really allowing the criminal element to flourish here," Cantera said.
And while the shootings and slayings continue, Cantera said the public has to remember that the attacks are targeted.
"The majority of what we are seeing are not random acts of violence. These are targeted squabbles that these individuals are trying to sort out, trying to vie for a position in the drug underworld," he said.
http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/realscoop/default.aspx
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Another puzzle for a Sunday morning: why does the U.S. hate Cuba so intensely? Recently I've been testing a new theory. If something a government does is so irrational that no amount of study can explain it ... I try to figure out if it might possibly maybe be the shadowy hand of Organized Crime directing government affairs. Even a quick look at the regime of Fulgencia Baptista which was in place when the Cubans rebelled, will provide some evidence that it's Organized Crime that hates Cuba. Please test this theory over brunch and let me know the results. - BC Mary.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Comments:
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Palango's latest book is amazing and tells it like it is. It is sold out and is hard to find...
# posted by 
: November 2, 2008 at 8:18 p.m.
: November 2, 2008 at 8:18 p.m.
.
Good to hear your book report. I keep stopping to read bits aloud, then we debate the issues which are hard for others to accept if they aren't following the deadly trail of evidence provided by Palango ... on Maher Arar especially.
I hope the publisher quickly cranks out a 2nd edition to keep the momentum ... this is really an important piece of research. Stuff we should know, if only our media did its proper job.
It was Robin Mathews who recommended the book, so I was able to pre-order my copy and have it dropped on my doorstep as soon as it was published.
It gives a whole new impression of the RCMP, eh? And CSIS. And the CIA etc.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate "Dispersing the Fog"??
.
Good to hear your book report. I keep stopping to read bits aloud, then we debate the issues which are hard for others to accept if they aren't following the deadly trail of evidence provided by Palango ... on Maher Arar especially.
I hope the publisher quickly cranks out a 2nd edition to keep the momentum ... this is really an important piece of research. Stuff we should know, if only our media did its proper job.
It was Robin Mathews who recommended the book, so I was able to pre-order my copy and have it dropped on my doorstep as soon as it was published.
It gives a whole new impression of the RCMP, eh? And CSIS. And the CIA etc.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how do you rate "Dispersing the Fog"??
.
If you need to know anything about the origins and workings of the CIA, google "The Secret Team" It's downloadable and very very interesting. The average person has absolutely no clue about the workings of this organization. There is even a piece on Cuba.
Sorry Mary. It appears that the format changed on the secret team. It's no longer downloadable. I guess Proudy figured he could make more by selling his books. Go figure. Anyway it can be bookmarked and read offline.
.
G'day, Gary E,
There must be a zillion of these exposes about the origins and workings of the CIA ... which is a good thing, I guess. I copied this excerpt:
The Secret Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World (ISBN 0-13-798173-2) is a book by L. Fletcher Prouty, a former colonel in the US Air Force, first published in 1973. It was one of the first tell-all books about the inner workings of the CIA and was an important influence on the Oliver Stone movie JFK. In Prouty's own words, from the 1997 edition of The Secret Team :
"This is the fundamental game of the Secret Team. They have this power because they control secrecy and secret intelligence and because they have the ability to take advantage of the most modern communications system in the world, of global transportation systems, of quantities of weapons of all kinds, and when needed, the full support of a world-wide U.S. military supporting base structure. They can use the finest intelligence system in the world, and most importantly, they have been able to operate under the canopy of an assumed, ever-present enemy called "Communism." It will be interesting to see what "enemy" develops in the years ahead. It appears that "UFO's and Aliens" are being primed to fulfill that role for the future. To top all of this, there is the fact that the CIA, itself, has assumed the right to generate and direct secret operations. "
--L. Fletcher Prouty
Alexandria, VA 1997
and, in Intelligence terms, 1997 is pretty old. I've found the Palango book (2008) extremely "here and now" with regard to how the CIA and FBI work in Canada -- in part, by following the previously untold story of Maher Arar. And yeah, the new enemy is "Terrorism".
The Palango book reveals, quite unexpectedly, the secret world -- "the fog" -- under which the RCMP tries to work. I'm only at P. 200, but it leaves me pondering the diabolical set of circumstances which keeps our journalists from digging up the hidden stories.
We shouldn't forget, either, that with changing times and lock-down controls (against Terrorism, of course), there will never again be a Woodward or a Bernstein ... or a newspaper like the Washington Post ... which kept the Watergate incident alive when no other media covered the story -- none! Sounds familiar.
Washington Post didn't mess around with "Can't speak because it's before the courts" ... they just kept publishing stories of what the key players were doing, why, when, where ... just kept the Watergate questions alive.
There's no denying that we're seeing this same kind of situation playing itself out in the Basi-Virk trial in BC Supreme Court and in CanWest media.
There's no Washington Post to keep asking the questions for us.
But there is Bloggerworld. And it's great that you, Gary E, are part of it at "How bad is the record?".
We may live long enough to hear the answers to the 27 famous big black questions which covered the front page of Vancouver Sun at the time of the big police raid on the BC Legislature. I sure hope so. And I don't think the full story is going to have much to do with Basi, Virk, or Basi, either. They didn't decide to sell BC Rail. They didn't negotiate the terms of sale and the 5-year bonus clauses. They didn't sign the Agreements and then keep them secret.
If only those 3 guys realized that they themselves could be the heroic Woodward and Bernsteins of this story.
.
G'day, Gary E,
There must be a zillion of these exposes about the origins and workings of the CIA ... which is a good thing, I guess. I copied this excerpt:
The Secret Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Secret Team: The CIA and Its Allies in Control of the United States and the World (ISBN 0-13-798173-2) is a book by L. Fletcher Prouty, a former colonel in the US Air Force, first published in 1973. It was one of the first tell-all books about the inner workings of the CIA and was an important influence on the Oliver Stone movie JFK. In Prouty's own words, from the 1997 edition of The Secret Team :
"This is the fundamental game of the Secret Team. They have this power because they control secrecy and secret intelligence and because they have the ability to take advantage of the most modern communications system in the world, of global transportation systems, of quantities of weapons of all kinds, and when needed, the full support of a world-wide U.S. military supporting base structure. They can use the finest intelligence system in the world, and most importantly, they have been able to operate under the canopy of an assumed, ever-present enemy called "Communism." It will be interesting to see what "enemy" develops in the years ahead. It appears that "UFO's and Aliens" are being primed to fulfill that role for the future. To top all of this, there is the fact that the CIA, itself, has assumed the right to generate and direct secret operations. "
--L. Fletcher Prouty
Alexandria, VA 1997
and, in Intelligence terms, 1997 is pretty old. I've found the Palango book (2008) extremely "here and now" with regard to how the CIA and FBI work in Canada -- in part, by following the previously untold story of Maher Arar. And yeah, the new enemy is "Terrorism".
The Palango book reveals, quite unexpectedly, the secret world -- "the fog" -- under which the RCMP tries to work. I'm only at P. 200, but it leaves me pondering the diabolical set of circumstances which keeps our journalists from digging up the hidden stories.
We shouldn't forget, either, that with changing times and lock-down controls (against Terrorism, of course), there will never again be a Woodward or a Bernstein ... or a newspaper like the Washington Post ... which kept the Watergate incident alive when no other media covered the story -- none! Sounds familiar.
Washington Post didn't mess around with "Can't speak because it's before the courts" ... they just kept publishing stories of what the key players were doing, why, when, where ... just kept the Watergate questions alive.
There's no denying that we're seeing this same kind of situation playing itself out in the Basi-Virk trial in BC Supreme Court and in CanWest media.
There's no Washington Post to keep asking the questions for us.
But there is Bloggerworld. And it's great that you, Gary E, are part of it at "How bad is the record?".
We may live long enough to hear the answers to the 27 famous big black questions which covered the front page of Vancouver Sun at the time of the big police raid on the BC Legislature. I sure hope so. And I don't think the full story is going to have much to do with Basi, Virk, or Basi, either. They didn't decide to sell BC Rail. They didn't negotiate the terms of sale and the 5-year bonus clauses. They didn't sign the Agreements and then keep them secret.
If only those 3 guys realized that they themselves could be the heroic Woodward and Bernsteins of this story.
.
.
P.S. I just checked my notes and would like to make my remarks more clear as to what the Washington Post did.
Washington Post succeeded in breaking the Watergate story by giving credit to each key figure for what they were doing after the break-in and before charges were laid. - John Dean in an interview on PBS.
CanWest, please note.
.
P.S. I just checked my notes and would like to make my remarks more clear as to what the Washington Post did.
Washington Post succeeded in breaking the Watergate story by giving credit to each key figure for what they were doing after the break-in and before charges were laid. - John Dean in an interview on PBS.
CanWest, please note.
.
Thanks for the plug Mary.
Another thing. They didn't change the laws so that you couldn't find out who the shareholders are in Public or Private companies.
I'll try to get the Palango book. Right now I'm reading Benazir Bhutto, Reconciliation. Pretty enlightening and I think I'll look up some of her references. Such as the Quran.
Another thing. They didn't change the laws so that you couldn't find out who the shareholders are in Public or Private companies.
I'll try to get the Palango book. Right now I'm reading Benazir Bhutto, Reconciliation. Pretty enlightening and I think I'll look up some of her references. Such as the Quran.
.
You're welcome, Gary E.
Need help with your 2nd paragraph. It's my understanding that Gordo's Gang brought in new legislation which prevents us from walking in, asking for the file, and looking at the list of registered shareholders.
Are you saying they didn't do that?? Or am I misunderstanding something??
.
You're welcome, Gary E.
Need help with your 2nd paragraph. It's my understanding that Gordo's Gang brought in new legislation which prevents us from walking in, asking for the file, and looking at the list of registered shareholders.
Are you saying they didn't do that?? Or am I misunderstanding something??
.
Sorry Mary. I was referring back to the didn't does. Tongue in cheek. That's exactly what they did do.
And I'm wondering if it was done to cover up anything more they could do illegally.
And I'm wondering if it was done to cover up anything more they could do illegally.
BC Rail trial seems to be acting more like its being run via a monorail justice system rather than double rail tracks. In this morning's paper Justice Catherine Wedge of the BC Surpreme Court said that the Arbitrator's decision to suspend two BC Ferry employees, without pay, for refusing to testify into the sinking of the Queen of North where to passangers' lives were lost, will stand because as it "is not patently unreasonable and should not be set aside."
Gordon Campbell's government is no different than those two BC Ferry Employees, where in the case of the BC Rail trial, he too has been dragging his feet by not releasing all documents relating to the Basi/Virk/Basi in a timely fashion.
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Gordon Campbell's government is no different than those two BC Ferry Employees, where in the case of the BC Rail trial, he too has been dragging his feet by not releasing all documents relating to the Basi/Virk/Basi in a timely fashion.
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