Sunday, December 20, 2009

 

Trio accused in Basi-Virk case wants charges stayed

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BY KEITH FRASER
The Province - Dec. 20, 2009

Three former government aides accused in the Basi-Virk corruption case are applying to have their criminal charges stayed on the grounds of an unreasonable delay in getting to trial.

The application before B.C. Supreme Court Justice Anne MacKenzie is expected to be heard when court resumes Jan. 11.

But given the fact that the new trial judge has apparently not made a single ruling in favor of the defence since she took over the case in the summer, it'll be an uphill battle for the accused. {Snip} ...

The judge also rejected a request by the defence that the court review 427 so-called source witness debriefings that have not been disclosed and were at the centre of a battle that landed in the Supreme Court of Canada and delayed the protracted case by two years.

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Comments:
Well, as I see it...we saw that coming 2 years ago - at least. I wouldn't be surprised to see MacKenzie say no...this whole mess is about hanging someone no matter what they knew, what they did, or to whom. Whether or not you get the right ones, or all who are involved makes no difference...just make it look good! Especially when the crown gets to decide what evidence the defense and public will have access to. Good deal for them! Truth be damned...but then this whole escapade from the courts and cops on down, has never been about truth. Campbell must be able to walk away the shining example of truth and justice in BC, anything else will affect his business as a developer once he's out of his power chair.

As far as I'm concerned, the corruption started with Dohm granting rights he had no right to, then removing a sitting judge from the case and putting in someone willing to do as they're told. Even if it had to be done via the federal and provincial governments working together - and they were, in my opinion. The pressure in this trial is coming from somewhere far above Campbell and his band of sycophants. None of them have the brains it takes to run a show as corrupt as this trial has turned out to be.
 
"power chair" are you suggesting he might move into the lucrative IPP trade that he created for a lot of his fellow BC Liberals?
 
Leah, good observation?
I too, feel a sad reality, that Campbell shines no matter how burnt the bulb.
 
Campbell shines?

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

B.C. citizen's assessment of what the Campbell government has done to British Columbia so far
.
BC Liberal Americanization of Formerly Public Assets and Services

By: SharingIsGood

Since coming to power, Gordon Campbell has allowed BC assets and services to become owned and controlled by exceedingly wealthy and powerful US individuals and corporations. If these corporations thought it prudent to buy assets and provide services for British Columbians, why did the BC government sell them? BC citizen tax dollars, user fees and utility bill payments have been contracted to go to the richest of Americans, and Campbell's government is the one that has signed the contracts giving our money to them. We have been sold out.

BC Rail

Looking through CN Railway's financial statements a couple of months ago, I found that through the purchase of BC Rail, CN has already made huge profits. Within the reports it was stated that a good deal of CN's improved financial position and profits came through the acquisition of BC Rail. It seems to me, even if the people of BC had wanted to sell the railway (which they didn't), Campbell chose the very worst time to sell.

With record use of BC Rail lines and equipment for transporting BC resources, CN has made great sums of money! Further, CN sold off BC Rail equipment, reduced service and reduced BC Rail staff. CN was also given huge tax breaks by Campbell for purchasing the railway. The Liberals stated they wanted to get the BC Rail debt off the books. Astute businessmen, CN found the BC Railway debt-to-assets ratio not to be anywhere near excessive. So here we have it, reduced payroll for a reduced (BC Rail) staff, reduced taxes from that payroll, and a tax break to CN. Campbell's terrible business skills were again at working against BC citizens.

Note: Bill Gates invested heavily in CN with the sale of BC Rail. He became its largest shareholder in 2006. I, for one, don't believe Gates (the richest man in the world) would buy into a losing proposition.

Bill Gates, with his 32% share of CN Railway, now owns 32% of what used to be BC Rail?

Notice that CN had an average annual earnings growth of 37.6% over the five year period: 2004 through 2008.
http://www.teamstersrail.ca/TCRC_News_March_6_2009.htm

CN Financial statements available through this link:
http://www.corporateinformation.com/Company-Snapshot.aspx?cusip=C12437280


BC Hydro

Plutonic Power holds the bulk of the new IPP "Run of River" power generation applications and development. Through a financing agreement, General Electric holds 49% stake in the company and is will receive 60% of the profits from the generation of electricity by Plutonic Power. Warren Buffet, the 2nd richest man in the world owns Berkshire Hathaway which in turn holds gobs of GE; and, while GE has been investing in Plutonic Power, Berkshire Hathaway has been buying more heavily into GE. I don't believe that Warren Buffet would allow his company to invest billions in anything but a sure thing. In the end, billions and billions will come out of BC citizens' pockets and into Warren Buffet's.

Though the environmental degradation is thought by many to be the worst factor in opening these private projects for a pittance of a fee, if one cares neither about the Salmon nor the forests, then one should (at the very least) care about money and maintaining control of our rivers. The Liberals claim that the rivers are only being controlled by the rich Americans for 45 years (at which time their contracts are up). In reality, under NAFTA, it will be next to impossible to take the rivers back. Our great-grandchildren will most likely continue lining the pockets of the Warren Buffet/General Electric empire.

(Continued next ... )
 
(Continuing ...)


BC Gas

Under Campbell BC Gas was made into Terasen Gas which was then sold to the Texas-based Kinder Morgan which then became part of the Carlysle Group.

The Carlyse Group is the World's LARGEST private equity firm. The Campbell government sold off your gas company to a private corporation owned controlled by some of the world's most rich and powerful people. Though there are many current and past famous people within this group; some are quite notable; some are thought to be notorious.

George H W Bush was senior advisor to the Carlysle group from Apr. 1998 to Oct. 2003. Donald Rumsfeld (Former US Secretary of Defence) was Chairman Emeritus from 1998 - 2005. James Baker III: Carlysle Senior Counselor 1993-2005. Et


BC Medical Insurance Corporation - Maximus

Under the BC Liberals, Texas-based Maximus [and HERE] took over the record keeping of BC Medical records. The cost of this service is higher than had it been kept in house. The cost has jumped 60% since the company took over our records in 2004. Maximus' profits are up too.

More notable than the loss of jobs and capital to the US corporation, however, is the threat to BC citizen's right to privacy. Under the USA Patriot Act, all records transported (even digitally) across the border to the US are subject to warrantless searches by arms of the US government which includes the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the CIA. Canadian Citizens have no rights in the USA. This includes any psychological, psychiatric or addictions treatment performed by any BC health care professional. Maximus does consulting with government bodies in the US. They provide services for the US government. This puts this US-based consulting company in charge of your BC-based documents. Could this be a conflict of interest? Is Big Brother is watching you?


Notable is a $30.2 million (US) Medicaid Fraud settlement paid by Maximus.

Maximus Settles Fraud Case for $30.5 Million

Suit Alleged False Medicaid Claims

By Alejandro Lazo

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 24, 2007; Page D04

(snip) "In the legal case, Maximus neither admitted nor denied the government's allegations. The government alleged that Maximus had helped the District of Columbia's Child and Family Services Agency submit false claims to the Medicaid program.

The U.S. government had previously recovered $12.15 million from the Child and Family Services Agency, bringing the total collected to $42.65 million." (snip) ...


This is the parent company of the company that handles our medical records.

(Continued ... )
 
(Concluding "Campbell Shines (not)" by Sharing is Good ...)



BC Family Maintenance Enforcement Program – Maximus/Themis:

All Family Maintenance records are controlled by Themis which is a subsidiary of Maximus. Should Themis send any of these records to the parent company (for backup storage etc.) in the USA, these records are also subject to Patriot Act warrantless searches.


BC Public Schools Records

Permanent records and records of individual student programming is conducted utilizing the BCESIS program. This includes the records of behaviour or emotional problems and the prescribed treatments for those problems.

BCESIS is owned by Oracle Canada, a subsidiary of the Oracle Corporation.

Oracle can be found in the data centres of 100 of the Global Fortune 100 companies. Oracle is first answerable to its stockholders, and secondly answerable to any governments with which it does business. Oracle is controlled by Redwood Shores which, in turn, is controlled by USA founder and CEO, Larry Ellison. Larry Ellison is the 3rd richest American and the 4th richest person in the world. Larry Ellison makes money on every student data file stored by the BC Ministry of Education.


I.C.B.C.

The Oracle Corporation now stores and controls ICBC data – including driving infractions and arrest records. Larry Ellison makes money off every record that ICBC has on you.


The author wishes no copyright for any of his writing above; please feel free to distribute his words as you wish. - SharingIsGood.

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Many thanks, S.i.G.
 
unreasonable delay??? LOL!!! WHat a laff riot!! The only unreasonable delay I see is the Defence!!
 
I am peeing my pants!!!! The unreasonable delay has been caused by the Defence!! This is too funny, and I betcha Mckenzie has milk running out her nose from laffing so hard at the absurdity of it all before she punts it through the uprights!
 
BC Mary,
I am humbled that you would find my pre-election discoveries worthy of a second look by your readers. Peace be with you noble citizen.
SIG
 
SharingisGood:

I'm the one thanking YOU for your carefully-sourced bundle of reminders of Gordo's goodness.

Peace and joy be with you, and your family, for Christmas and the coming year(s).
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Enough of the backslapping.

For a copy of SharingIsGood WITH the links still intact look no further than here.....

http://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/2009/05/bc-citizens-assessment-of-what-campbell.html
 
Anonymous 4:50? so what?

The court matter at hand is about BVB guilt or innocence. Lets find out.

If you want it to be about something else, that alone wont make it so, no matter how badly you really really want that it.
 
5:47 PM are you high?

"If you want it to be about something else, that alone wont make it so, no matter how badly you really really want that it."

I'm 4:50 and I realized that BC Mary had copied SIG but missed the links contained in her writings.

Could you explain what you mean "no matter how badly you really rally want that it."
 
A couple of items SIG missed:

*BC Ferries
*the Royal British Columbia Museum
*the production contract for the Olympic ceremonies
*the huge role of Kiewit Construction in government maintenance contracts, i.e. the main infrastructure-construction market in the province (including a lot of hidden thing, such as the Stewart-Omioneca Connector, which will lead to one of various highways into the Alaska Panhandle, all probably will be contracted to "the largest contractor in the province' i.e. Kiewit
*Revenue Services of BC (the government's bill collector)
*the Queen's Printer (I think)
*Accenture's stake in BC Hydro and its (mis)management
*HandyDart
*hospital cleaning contracts

There's more I've missed, I'm sure, of the many once-upon-a-time functions of the government of BC which are now owned and/or run by American companies. Many, if not most (?), it seems, were transferred without tenders.

I supposed in the case of BC Rail we should be lucky there was even the appearance of a bidding process; most of these had none at all....
 
Its the twentieth of December 2009 and wouldn't this be as good as place as any for US to continue on with the list that SIG has started us on...... Drum Roll.... New Heading BC Mary......
 
Skookum said in a post attached to the previous file that this trial was about a single mindedness in "railoading" BVB.

BC Mary then jumped into the fray by wanting to be able to identify the person who thought that what Skookum meant by "railroading" was that they had been wrongfully charged; she said something like,
"Anon, I dont even know who you are"!

You are free to draw what ever you like from that.

Of course the Defence wants this thing quashed. BVB will not have to pay the legal bills unless found guilty. If that is not fact, please correct me and I will retract. There is so much at stake here becuase of that.
 
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You betcha, 10:49 ... it'd be a huge benefit if somebody would put together the list ...

may I suggest smething like Bill Tieleman did for his A-Z list of BC Rail characters:

* first making the list in the format SiG started with, i.e., including a brief description (and sources, where known),

* an alphabetical list of the titles only, for quick use when writing Letters-to-Whoever, comments, or contributions.

Lists like this would be a MAJOR assist.

As we speak, I'm in the middle of writing a Letter-to-the-Editor of The Globe and Mail for their outrageous editorial ("Ratings and merits") in which they rank Canada's provincial premiers.

OK, Gordo is ranked 2nd from last, but they interpret a recent Angus Reid poll to mean that premiers are "punished for the sin of looking after the long-term best interests of their provinces, instead of their own short term political needs."

If that were remotely accurate, our Gordo would be lose hands-down.

It would be a help to have SiG's expanded List at our finger-tips.

So if I put up a new posting -- THINGS GORDO SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE TO B.C. -- would you leave contributions on that thread?

Over to you ... while I finish my Letter to the Editors ...
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The first one I would add would be "They took the knife too far"
 
Anon 9:55,

No idea what you mean. Could you clarify this for us?
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http://thetyee.ca/Views/2009/01/08/HughesReport/
 
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Just guessing here:

That Anon 10:50 refers to what he/she said Anon 9:55.

Certainly a strong denunciation of Gordo's hurtful tactics.

Thanks for sending.
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From Laila Yuile's blog there was the 100 reasons not to vote for Campbell thread. I am sure we could mine this thread to help name further Campbell privatizations that have taken money out of the province or minimally meant a reduction in service (but not necessarily cost) to BC citizens.

http://lailayuile.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/100-reasons-not-to-vote-for-gordon-campbell-again/
 
Sharingisgood (except when it inclused sharing ideas that Sharingisgood doesnt agree with).

Liberals ran and won 3 times with Campbell.

Although I agree with you, that is, that Campbell has done some horrific things to the People of BC, in reality, you have to offer a legitimate and viable opposition to counter such pain. We dont have that in Carol James and the NDP. What we have, is a group of foold snf idiots in the oppostition.

I know this to be true becuase while the Liberals were able to quash the NDP over bingogate, fast ferries and a deck for then premier Clarke, the NDP have been paralized to do anything with the land mines handed to them by the Liberals. You counted a 100 of them. Some arnt even land mines, but bombs sitting right there in plain view yet no one in the NDP is able to detonate any of them. Why? Becuase they are clued out idiots. They dont understand economics or really anything beyond their own short sighted, communistic partisan views.

So when it comes to election time, and BCers have to decide between corruption and incompetance, they choose corruption hands down everytime.

And so would you if you stepped back and thought about it for a moment.
 
The year is 2002 in review (page 14 specifically) The Legislature hasn't been raided by the police and here we have 12 Justices who have been sitting around the committee table discussing criminal law with the primary focus to finding a way to shortening or making more efficient the conduct of criminal trials.

Criminal Law Committee

Members: Madam Justice Koenigsberg (Chair)
Chief Justice Brenner
Associate Chief Justice Dohm
Madam Justice Bennett
Mr. Justice Cullen
Madam Justice Holmes
Mr. Justice Josephson
Madam Justice MacKenzie
Mr. Justice Oppal
Mr. Justice Romilly
Mr. Justice Stewart
Madam Justice Stromberg-Stein

"The Criminal Law Committee’s primary focus this past year centered on considering what
recommendation, if any, can be made to the Court for shortening or making more efficient
the conduct of criminal trials.

Several projects have been undertaken to examine means to shorten trials, particularly,
lengthy voir dires. The use of pre-trial conferences has been identified as the most likely
vehicle for reform. Further investigation of the use of pre-trials in other Canadian
jurisdictions is underway."

Annual Report
2002

***************************
Snip

Snipping back to the Annual Report for 1997-1998

CRIMINAL LAW COMMITTEE
MEMBERS:
The Honourable Mr. Justice Henderson (Chair)
The Honourable Madam Justice Humphries
The Honourable Madam Justice Koenigsberg
The Honourable Madam Justice Mackenzie
The Honourable Mr. Justice Oppal
The Honourable Mr. Justice Paris
The Honourable Mr. Justice Stewart
The Honourable Mr. Justice Williamson

words used as a unit to search for the above:

Before: The Honourable "Madam Justice MacKenzie"
 
I highlighted Justice Holmes and Justice Oppal because the Special Prosecutor cited Holmes in one instance on the matter of who should be reviewing documents and the latter Justice because he retired and became the Attorney General of British Columbia..... during the time in which he developed the ability to say NO COMMENT.
 
Mary,good conversation here.

I still can't get past how the deaths of 10, or more, foster children, went uninvestigated! My BP is still high from when the Minister of Family and Children 'had to', step down after been seen at the funeral of a full patch member of, hell's angel!!! Can't recall the ministers name, (gordon?), I believe he was shuffled into another cabinet postion.
The way I see it, it's up to the good cops with the help of DND, to whip this government out of office!

PS:
I never voted for these 'people'.
 
"All justices of the BCSC (including the position of Chief Justice and Associate Chief Justice) are appointed by the federal cabinet, on recommendation of the Minister of Justice. All BCSC justices have full jurisdiction over any matter before the BCSC."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_British_Columbia
 
tainting was raised on March 28, 2006 and also in the closing days of December 2009...... in regards to Bornman

"The defence is very concerned over the possibility of witness tainting" - Before: The Honoruable Madam Justice Bennett

Ruling on Application to Vacate or Vary Sealing Orders

In Chambers
March 28, 2006
 
Anon 9:44,

It was Gordon Hogg ... and yes, he did get shuffled out ... right out, for a while I think,

then he came back into Gordo's government.

.
 
NVG,

What a fascinating find! When I read the lists, I said to aloud myself, "But, of course, there aren't that many of these people working out of Vancouver; they must travel in the same circles."

I wonder what secrets Wally Oppal holds in relation to this trial? He lost my respect years ago. I wonder if it was all part of the privatization plan to bring him into politics for protection with the other justices or if he was just into being an MLA to get the double pension. In the last few years, Mr. Oppal certainly seemed to have slipped down the intellectual scale. Early alzheimers?

SIG
 
SIG I heard that Madame Justice MacKenzie has been around a lot longer than just 2010-1997= 13 years.

Try 30 years and where's the record of it, eh
 
Oh joy, I finally found Anne W. MacKenzie, there's only one Anne MacKenzie in the province of British Columbia:

Appointed to Supreme Court June 20, 1996 which ties into the Annual Report of 1997-1998 mentioned above.

Madam Justice Anne W. MacKenzie (Vancouver)

GaryW? has the right one from the UBC Alumni Chronicle Spring of 1980
 
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Many thanks, N.V.G.!

So far, then, we know that our judge has 13.5 years of experience on BC Supreme Court ...

and that she presided over a Hells Angels trial recently.

But not much else.

It does seem as if something is lacking in our ability to appreciate this significant person.
.
 
super_anonoPAB sez:

"So when it comes to election time, and BCers have to decide between corruption and incompetance, they choose corruption hands down everytime."

Well, perhaps 20% of the people choose corruption - the majority (OVER 50%) are too disgusted to vote and busy sharpening their pitchforks!

To address a more sensible person's comment:

"primary focus to finding a way to shortening or making more efficient the conduct of criminal trials."

Geee whilickers, that's certainly gone well, maybe this trial won't take more than a DECADE!

And then Mary:

"It was Gordon Hogg ... and yes, he did get shuffled out ... right out, for a while I think,

then he came back into Gordo's government.
"

A liberal can do ANYTHING, other than contradict Lord Gord (see Paul Nettleton) and still return to cabinet. A BC liaR minister could get caught killing and eating children and would just have to sit in the backbench until he/she had digested and passed the children as stool. Then he would probably be considered knowledgeable about children and be put in charge of Family and Children's Services (how to to serve children, on a budget)!
 
I wouldn't base too much on the bad blog press against the Justice in the Hell's Angels trial........ there are just so many people involved in the Hell's Angels.

From the day she was appointed to the BC Supreme Court she has been doing her share of the workload all you have to do is go here:

http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/search_judgments.aspx#SearchTitle

At Key Words: "Madam Justice MacKenzie"

include the quotes.

The results go on for four pages...


You've pointed out the fact that Bill Berardino has worked both sides, Crown versus Defense.

It looks like we known where Madame Justice MacKenzie came from for a lonnnnnnnnng time:


"From 1980 UBC archives:

Anne W. Mackenzie:

Anne W. MacKenzie,. BA'73, LLB'77, currently practises law as fed- eral crown counsel with the department of justice in Vancouver. ..
# posted by Anonymous lynx : August 22, 2009 6:02 PM"


We just weren't ready to accept the information.
 
I came across one of Madam Justice MacKenzie involvement as a Case Management person from her NewWestminster trial area over a Vancouver trial which led me to look for the phrase online.

BC criminal judicial case management

GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE CASE MANAGEMENT

"Active case management by the court a. In B.C, Criminal Caseflow Management Rules were developed and implemented with active participation by the judiciary"


Another result of the search was, of course, Robin Mathew's The BC Rail Scandal (Basi, Virk, and Basi) At Its Fifth Anniversary. The Supreme Court of B.C. Clouds of Suspicion. over at Vivelecanada
 
Hi Mary, this just came in from the S.C.C. regarding Libel Chill. From the article, it has implications for this site - positive ones I may add.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/supreme-court-hands-victory-to-media/article1408613/
 
NVG,

You say we've known about Justice MacKenzie for a long time? Well, I can assure you, I did not know ... and I find your final comment:

"We just weren't ready to accept the information" downright peculiar.


Thanks for the link you have provided, but I can assure you that I've gone there a dozen times in the past, without success ...

it requires much more information than merely MacKenzie's name -- information which I do not have.
.
 
... and by the way, NVG. the article you cited by Robin Mathews was published HERE on The Legislature Raids, y'know.
.
 
SIG...the new rules do indeed look like they belong in this century as compared to the old ones...question though: Do you think this is going to change the quality of crap coming out of BC's MSM? Is there any hope of the general population finding out the Truth from CanWest/Global?
 
Leah, I certainly understand your concern, as I have been pondering that very question since reading the article. I think it can go two ways:

1) all information opens up as reporters and their bosses are less afraid to report against previously libel-threatening politicians such as Steven Harper (and quite possibly from behind closed doors - Gordon Campbell);

2) the Conservative/Reform/Republican/Neo-Liberal/objectivist MSM becomes emboldened and further increases its pressure against democracy and equitable distribution of goods and services across all segments of the BC/Canadian citizenry. Under this scenario, the MSM increase publishing dirt/innuendo against the Davids (NDP-type politicians and institutions that stand up for the common person) while continuing to rarely publish anything negative about their BC Liberal/Conservative Goliaths (- and generally doing so only when they heap dirt/innuendo upon the NDP as well).

Given past performance, the latter seems more probable; however, people like BC Mary, Bill Tieleman and David Beers can gladly be a little less worried about legal action against them.

Hooray for the SCC - but too bad it will take generations of case law to tighten up federal and provincial governments (like Harper's and Campbell's) that continually challenge the untested areas of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms by trying to have it mirror their own narcissitic images ...SIG
 
Further to the above posting that included information about Elliston, the 3rd richest American and owner of Oracle Corporation which maintains ICBC records and BC Public Schools records.
http://www.alternet.org/workplace/144718/10_greediest_people_of_2009?page=5
 
Please note that the Alternet article that is linked in my last post reverts back to page one. To get to Larry "Ellison" one needs to scroll down page 1 and click on the 5 found at the bottom of that page.
 
As mentioned in my previous writings, GE holds a 49% share stake and is set to receive 60% profit from a BC Government agreement to let IPP Plutonic Power sell all of the (generally unnecessary spring and summer) power they generate at inflated rates to BC Hydro.

Ethically, this conglomerate seems to do all things necessary to darken the black ink ontheir bottom line:

http://www.cleanupge.org/pcbs.html

http://www.cleanupge.org/gemisdeeds.html

http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-178.htm

http://www.corpwatch.org/section.php?id=16
 
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