Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Basi, Virk, Basi, the BC government and the BC Media
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Tomorrow, February 10, 2010, two very familiar people will appear in public and we will discover how very little we know about them except for their names.
Dave Basi and Bobby Virk have lived the past 7 years under an enormous dark cloud ... ever since police raided their offices in the BC Legislature. Never mind that no parliament in the British Commonwealth has ever been breached by police bearing Search Warrants ... phhttt, so what? It's as if the objects of those warrants no longer exist, as persons. It's as if we dare not say "Good morning!" if we met them on the sidewalk. Perhaps that's a good thing. Perhaps it has given Basi and Virk and their families as much privacy as is possible, in the circumstances. But I don't think so. I think we could have done better, all around.
For the general public, it hasn't been so good either. From Day One -- Dec. 28, 2003 - the provincial leadership in Victoria seems to step aside from the legitimate concerns that Organized Crime might have infiltrated government. Is that crazy or what. How could they not care? How is it that the public is expected not to care?
The provincial government failed in their duty to reassure the population that every effort was being made to correct the problems (if any). As time went on (and on, and on) ... even when there were visible evasions and obstruction from the provincial government ... the premier seemed well satisfied with the isolation of Basi, Virk, and Basi. That didn't help the people. That was the wrong message. It merely shifted that dark cloud over the premier's head, as well.
Tomorrow will be different. Instead of hearing only their names being discussed in court, the two men will be in court themselves. The third man -- Aneal Basi -- will appear by tele-conferencing video from Montreal, where he is working. I doubt that the premier will attend.
So tomorrow is a rare media opportunity. I'd like to know how Basi and Virk are, in their hearts. Are they employed? I'd like to know how they feel, as this trial approaches. How do they look? Who came to court with them? Will they return to court for the whole trial? That, and more.
As of tomorrow, I want to be able to feel that Basi, Virk, and Basi are actually part of this process we're going through ... that is, our effort to seek out, understand and stomp on any Organized Crime tentacles which are working their way into the BC Legislature.
There's no point suggesting that Palmer, Baldrey or Bill Good might do this work for us ... and they've pretty much got control of the BC media. They've had their chance and they blew it.
But tomorrow 10,000 foreign journalists should be in Vancouver for The Games. They will be looking for interesting stories. OK, tell them this: British Columbia has spent 7 years on the biggest Game of all: trying to find out how we lost the nation's 3rd largest railway. Yes, it's hard to believe unless you're British Columbian, but we know that our current premier was elected on the promise never to sell this jewel, this lifeline of economic health for a big province. But somehow, for a lousy $1Billion, BC Rail is running under the CN brand now. This fails to impress a province where BC grow-ops are hauling in $6 to $7Billion a year. Us? We were supposed to get $1Billion but we're not even sure we received it.
Gordo the deal-maker will say that he didn't sell BC Rail ... he only leased it for 990 years, haha, hoho. He probably won't tell the International Press that the "deal" is still partially secret, either.* Or that more people might need to be charged; and that it might be a good idea to separate the smaller crimes from the massive crimes. But then, our own media is silent on the significance of all this, too.
So, starting tomorrow I want to see the International media getting ready for the most important trial in BC history. I know in my heart that it's not asking too much to want to see some in-depth reporting with quotes from Basi and Virk, with a dateline Vancouver BC - Wed., Feb. 10, 2010. - BC Mary.
*Here's what Gordo did say: "I heard that it [the raids on the Legislature] had to do potentially with money laundering and drugs. That's the extent of it," Campbell said of his briefing. "Everything that the Solicitor General did, was done with the approval of the R.C.M.P."
Tomorrow, February 10, 2010, two very familiar people will appear in public and we will discover how very little we know about them except for their names.
Dave Basi and Bobby Virk have lived the past 7 years under an enormous dark cloud ... ever since police raided their offices in the BC Legislature. Never mind that no parliament in the British Commonwealth has ever been breached by police bearing Search Warrants ... phhttt, so what? It's as if the objects of those warrants no longer exist, as persons. It's as if we dare not say "Good morning!" if we met them on the sidewalk. Perhaps that's a good thing. Perhaps it has given Basi and Virk and their families as much privacy as is possible, in the circumstances. But I don't think so. I think we could have done better, all around.
For the general public, it hasn't been so good either. From Day One -- Dec. 28, 2003 - the provincial leadership in Victoria seems to step aside from the legitimate concerns that Organized Crime might have infiltrated government. Is that crazy or what. How could they not care? How is it that the public is expected not to care?
The provincial government failed in their duty to reassure the population that every effort was being made to correct the problems (if any). As time went on (and on, and on) ... even when there were visible evasions and obstruction from the provincial government ... the premier seemed well satisfied with the isolation of Basi, Virk, and Basi. That didn't help the people. That was the wrong message. It merely shifted that dark cloud over the premier's head, as well.
Tomorrow will be different. Instead of hearing only their names being discussed in court, the two men will be in court themselves. The third man -- Aneal Basi -- will appear by tele-conferencing video from Montreal, where he is working. I doubt that the premier will attend.
So tomorrow is a rare media opportunity. I'd like to know how Basi and Virk are, in their hearts. Are they employed? I'd like to know how they feel, as this trial approaches. How do they look? Who came to court with them? Will they return to court for the whole trial? That, and more.
As of tomorrow, I want to be able to feel that Basi, Virk, and Basi are actually part of this process we're going through ... that is, our effort to seek out, understand and stomp on any Organized Crime tentacles which are working their way into the BC Legislature.
There's no point suggesting that Palmer, Baldrey or Bill Good might do this work for us ... and they've pretty much got control of the BC media. They've had their chance and they blew it.
But tomorrow 10,000 foreign journalists should be in Vancouver for The Games. They will be looking for interesting stories. OK, tell them this: British Columbia has spent 7 years on the biggest Game of all: trying to find out how we lost the nation's 3rd largest railway. Yes, it's hard to believe unless you're British Columbian, but we know that our current premier was elected on the promise never to sell this jewel, this lifeline of economic health for a big province. But somehow, for a lousy $1Billion, BC Rail is running under the CN brand now. This fails to impress a province where BC grow-ops are hauling in $6 to $7Billion a year. Us? We were supposed to get $1Billion but we're not even sure we received it.
Gordo the deal-maker will say that he didn't sell BC Rail ... he only leased it for 990 years, haha, hoho. He probably won't tell the International Press that the "deal" is still partially secret, either.* Or that more people might need to be charged; and that it might be a good idea to separate the smaller crimes from the massive crimes. But then, our own media is silent on the significance of all this, too.
So, starting tomorrow I want to see the International media getting ready for the most important trial in BC history. I know in my heart that it's not asking too much to want to see some in-depth reporting with quotes from Basi and Virk, with a dateline Vancouver BC - Wed., Feb. 10, 2010. - BC Mary.
*Here's what Gordo did say: "I heard that it [the raids on the Legislature] had to do potentially with money laundering and drugs. That's the extent of it," Campbell said of his briefing. "Everything that the Solicitor General did, was done with the approval of the R.C.M.P."
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