Tuesday, February 17, 2009

 

Is it better to be 8 months late than never to publish the news at all? BC Mary says YES, but timely publishing would be best of all.

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Victoria Times Colonist has published this story today, February 17, 2009. It's an informative news article with detail -- even fresh detail -- about Basi-Virk and BC Rail. Read the story here.

But look at the dates!! Please look at the dates, or you won't believe it's possible for a news service to come out with news of a very important trial that happened last June 2008!!

Then, please note that BC Mary published this information on Thurday December 11, 2008 under the headline "Jasmohan Singh Bains sentenced to 9 years." That scoop resulted from a commentor mentioning that he had heard -- during a Basi-Virk pre-trial hearing -- that Bains had been sentenced to 9 years. What?? I was so unsure about that -- having seen NOTHING in the 4 daily newspapers I check every morning -- I went to a whole lot of trouble to confirm that this was true. Unbelievable.

The Bains trial had begun in June 2008 IN VICTORIA, the guilty verdict had been given in August 2008 and the sentence pronounced in September 2008. And despite the fact (or because of the fact??) that Bains is a significant figure in the raid on the BC Legislature, nothing was published about his trial?

Special thanks to the commentor who first mentioned this, saying "The broke TC has just broken the story ... 3-1/2 months late."

A big part of what's wrong with British Columbia these days is that the media has failed, time and again, to report news like this. - BC Mary.


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Vancouver Sun actually may have been first, with TC following the leader. Read Ian Mulgrew's story on it "Drug dealer who triggered raid fined and sentenced to 9 years" here, in which Mulgrew claims he didn't know about the Bains trial, blames the RCMP for being "oddly silent", and gives credit to BC Mary.

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Comments:
Kudos Mary, pretty incredible MSM is using your site as their news source. I've got a feeling that without BC Mary the entire story would be manipulated or censored.
 
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Hey ... thank you for that bouquet of kind words!

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You deserve a big regular paycheque for all your hard work Mary. It's a sad state of affairs that our main sources of news have failed us so hugely, for so long. Thanks very much for your selfless acts of courage on behalf of British Columbians for all these years. You are definitely a heroine of mine.
 
Is it still news if it's 8 months late?

I seem to recall the erstwhile editor of the Times Colonist - in respect of another matter - laying down what I like to call the 'Chodan Doctrine' to you Mary.

How did that go?

Along these lines, as I remember, she said, '....when there's news, we'll publish it.'

So, this item wasn't 'news' in June, but it is 'news' now!

I can't help but wonder, Mary, if the MSM is now following the internet instead of the other way around.

Take a deep bow.
GW
 
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Anon 8:44 and GW,

Them's pretty nice words ... maybe even better than bouquets, chocolates, or a paycheque.

Thanks. I will try to keep my feet on the ground.

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I, 3:32, now see that the governing institutions we have been lead to believe in are not to simply be believed without our study of them to see if they are worthy of believability.


http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:n8XrrhwR41sJ:www.canadacourtwatch.com/CanFamForumFiles/CFF-2005Dec15%2520-%2520What%2520ever%2520happened%2520to%2520democratic%2520reform.pdf+CITIZENS+LAW+REFORM+%2B+CANADA&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=16


Whatever happened to democratic reform in Canada?
By Peter Cornakovic, Justice Advocate
____________________________________

[Anon: I have removed the text print-out of this URL (both URLs, by the way, lead to the same information) because it's easier to read the original.

I'm not sure what to make of the fact that the author is a businessman, not a lawyer or judge. Particularly in view of the fact that he's advocating for increased analysis (insert smile here). - BC Mary]

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Beautiful work Mary, and so nice to see the MSM giving credit where credit is so rightfully due!

It must be gratifying to see this in print!!
 
BCMARY I AM SO TOTALLY PROUD OF YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU REPRESENT IN ETHICAL JOURNALISM - You are a WOMAN WARRIOR for the TRUTH. YOUR diligence into every nook and cranny to weave the big picture for your multitude of fans has gone a long way to finally forcing the MSM out of the woodwork. It is your PERISISTENCE AND COURAGE that have won this success with Ian and the Vancouver Sun, now the Times Colonist!!!

I am filled with pleasure to add my voice of HIGH FIVES to you, above all other News media/Blogs for your detailed, indepth analysis 'EVERYWHICHWAY' of the Raid on the Legislature/Basi Virk political scandal.

YOU clearly stated from the start that the Raid began as a DRUG RAID - which then was linked directly to BC Govt insiders.

We all stand united beside you, BCMary. It seems the so called "conspiracy theorists" have been right all along - of course the term used by others who have chosen to stick their heads in the sand on the WHOLE truth.

One can always measure the magnitude/depth of the threat of the truth to the corrupt status quo of our systems, by the magnitude of the attempts to COVERUP by those systems, too often in step with the MSM to date.

Yes, I know that 'capitals' mean yelling - I am yelling with glee!! Keep on keeping on. You lead the charge with PEOPLE POWER TO CLEAN OUT THE ROT.
 
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Laila Yuile,

You write a splendid blog yourself, so your comment is really special to me. Thanks!

Gratifying? That made me think back to the December weekend when I dragged that story into the light of day ... I was amazed by the discovery, grateful to my helpers, and filled with a kind of joy thinking how it would be received.

I took special care with the headline, getting the name exactly right: Jasmohan Singh Bains sentenced to 9 years knowing it would be picked up by Google.

Well ... if Big Media saw it, or knew about the Bains Trial ... or gave a tinker's damn ... it never showed.

If it hadn't been for the appreciation shown by the readers of this blog, I might've thought nobody noticed.

But I kept mentioning it, because I knew it was important. For example, during that week when the judiciary took the Basi-Virk Gong Show to VICTORIA, I talked to Times Colonist reporters trying to find out what was going on. PLENTY was going on -- Dave Basi in one courtroom on A.L.R. bribery charges, Dave Basi in another courtroom before Justice Bennett on some BC Rail issues -- but no, TC management couldn't assign any reporters to it. "Don't let this turn into another Bains trial," I said ... but nothing appeared in print ... just like the Bains trial.

So how did Bains land in two CanWest papers today - 8 months after his trial?

Well, last week, I had written to Ian Mulgrew to compliment him on an article he had written (on another topic) and added "I wish YOU were assigned to the Basi Virk issue ... then perhaps we'd have heard about the Bains trial last June ..." and briefly outlined how they are connected.

So that's how "it came to [his] attention" (as he said) ... and I guess he checked my blog and did his due diligence (just as I had done), and realized it was accurate and a very important story.

Best part? The fact that once he had been hit over the head with the story, Ian Mulgrew barged forward with it, wrote it up and it appeared in Vancouver Sun!! Yayy! Nobody else had done that.

2nd best: when somebody at Times Colonist saw his story and decided they couldn't delay any longer without looking like idiots, and published the story (attributed to Canwest News Services, not to Ian Mulgrew, and not to BC Mary).

So you got that precisely right, Laila: it was indeed gratifying to see this in print.

I try not to think about what this kind of delay means to B.C. in the long run. Also the Basi-Virk delays.

I mean, if Big Media were to take a stand, saying to Organized Crime: "We're here, we're on the job, and we're watching every move you make." Wouldn't that make a difference?

And wouldn't that have to start with the Basi-Virk trial ... with a regular feature explaining what's happening in BC Supreme Court TODAY, for example, what it means, who's advocating what, the issues, the implications, etc.

If they can do it for a pig farmer, why can't they do it for something as important as BC Rail?

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I agree with all of the above recognition rights to you BC Mary. Incredible fortitude and insight by you to bring justice to bear on the corruption so rampant in British Columbia within our systems

"A big part of what's wrong with British Columbia these days is that the media has failed, time and again, to report news like this. - BC Mary" . . .

Absolutely. All the red flags are there to say that the Media and the RCMP have had their roles in political coverups.

More grist for the grill:

Where HAVE the RCMP been in announcing to the Media this direct link of drugs to the Raid on the Leg - seems their Media Relations have fallen silent as this scandal heats up? It doesn't fit unless you follow the threads under the table cloth:

1. Did anyone a know that Eli Sopow is now the go to guy in the shadows for the RCMP Media relations?

2. Eli Sopow was former BCTV (now Canwest Global) reporter back in the Zalm days. He suddenly landed a job in disgraced Prem Zalm's Office at the same time he had broken a massive scandal re a Cabinet Minister's alleged conflict of interest/attempts at influence peddling in a Cabinet Room. This scandal was a two week headliner. Eli got the job - the Minister was removed and put back in a few months later. What did Eli really know????

3. Eli knows many of the key names involved with the Campbell circle recycled from the Zalm days; ie Martyn Brown is a Zalmoid of the 1st degree - now in the Prem's Office directing all political machinations of the Campbell Govt. His name is of course in the middle of the Basi/Virk/BCRail/Raid on the Leg SCANDAL. Old 'political ties' die hard - instead they entrench their network.

4. The RCMP at the senior stratosphere levil have become blatantly 'politicized' under the oh so political Solicitor General's Office with its direct ties to the Preem's Office. After all don't they have a 24/7 security detail around Campbell?

5. Didn't we all hear in pretrial evidence that Asst. Dep Gary Begg, Sol Gen Office strongly suggested to RCMP Dep. Comm Gary Bass that they NOT pursue the politicians after the wiretapping evidence and the actual Raid in Dec. 2003???

Is there a shred of doubt that it is the highest level of E Division calling the political games in concert with the MSM with assistance from the Media Relations Consultant on behalf of the Campbell Govt to put out the burning fires as they erupt?

What is REALLY going on behind the curtais? I smell rats.
 
Rats abound everywhere, my friend, but Ian's acknowledgement of BC Mary as the person behind that particular story highlights the growing recognition of serious citizen journalists and bloggers.

For long enough,reporters and producers have combed blogs for newsworthy items and bits of interest - most often without crediting the source. The only protection a blogger had against this was to develop a solid reputation and reader base,and in doing so, the chance of being scooped or ripped off diminished.

As budgetary constraints prevent reporters from going out to investigate good stories, and editorial boards exercise their powers, bloggers will continue to fill the void.
Bloggers like you BC Mary, again, a stunning example.
 
Congrats on the story BC Mary.

Do all Ministerial Assistants in the BC gov't fraternize with drug lords?

[REMOVED FOR LEGAL REASONS. PLEASE BE CAREFUL TO AVOID ACCUSATORY COMMENTS.]
 
3:32 back after several 'crashes' and lost material.



“I'm not sure what to make of the fact that the author is a businessman, not a lawyer or judge”

There is a growing worldwide movement of concerned citizens who are taking up their responsibilities to both learn the law and change the law

That Peter Cornakovic is a businessman, who one must presume lives under the

Ignorantia legis non excusat "Ignorance of the law is no excuse…" law. It is his duty to advocate for changes in the law where the law is unfit or unjust
There are two extremely important brocards (maxims) of law.
Dura lex, sed lex
"The law [is] harsh, but [it is] the law". It follows from the principle of the rule of law that even draconian laws must be followed and enforced; if one disagrees with the result, one must seek to change the law.

It is the part following the semicolon requiring our attention “if one disagrees with the result, one must seek to change the law.”
Law would have you believe that ignorance of it applies only to the breaking of law.
This is not the case. It is ignorance of the law(s) that is inexcusable anywhere law touches.
Sir William Blackstone in h is recognized Commentaries on the Laws of Great Britain lays out the Rights and responsibilities of the citizenry to know the law in his introduction.
http://www.lonang.com/exlibris/blackstone/bla-001.htm

For far to long law has been shrouded in mystery and requires a dictionary of law to decipher the meanings peculiar to it.

I have before me a university textbook POLITICS IN CANADA: Culture, Institutions, Behaviour and Public Policy. ISBN 0-13-684218-6
Page 200. The Constitution Act 1982 greatly increased the political importance of the Supreme Court of Canada, mainly because OF THE Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Under the Charter the Supreme Court of Canada can “overrule legislation and executive acts of government not only on the grounds that they violate the federal division of powers, but also on the grounds that they violate fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens” The consequences of thid new development are discussed more fully in the section on the Charter, but here it is important to note that the Canadian judiciary has become more powerful since its inception.
The mandate of the judges has remained constant: to respect the law governing the disputes which they arbitrate, yet also contribute to the development of those laws. In doing so the must be and also seen to be, totally impartial and independent.
Increasingly, however, judges are perceived as fulfilling an essentially technical and non-political role, and as promoting change in public policies. As Canadians become more conscious of judicial power they will undoubtedly scrutinise more closely the claims of impartiality of judges…”

May I remind the reader this is a textbook explanation and life itself differs vastly.
 
E Pluribus Mary!


(BC variety)


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Yaaayy! she said quietly. It's been a happy day.

Nice you dropped by, RossK.

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Righteous creds, Mary!
 
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