The Legislature Raids

Where does,'terrorism,organised crime,police corruption and political interference' come into play?
If the accused are the only ones to be charged with accepting a bribe, why not the bribers? Whom are from the US. I recall reading back in '04, the the raid was headed up by a US authority?!
So, a set up, to lure out something...or a trade.
 

just sayin' ...

What newspapers are you reading? Or what TV News are you watching?

Or are you "just kidding"?

Where does terrorism come into the BC Rail case?

And can you pinpoint the source for your intriguing comment that "the raid was headed up by a U.S. authority"?
.
 

I guess this was why Kevin McCullough was up and down like an Energizer Bunny at the Crown's opening.
 

Sean Holman is one of the few (the only?) so-called "accredited" real political journalists in BC.

That man deserves so much credit for digging up so many things that other, lazier and less intelligent (and less courageous) reporters, do.

He was turfed by one of the Vancouver papers in their last down-sizing, and not because he was a poor performer, but because he is a damn good journalist, with a strong ethical and professional integrity.

*****
I would urge everyone interested in solid journalism, to make a donation to Sean Holman's Public Eye website.

http://www.publiceyeonline.com/

*****

This is how he makes a living, and without someone like him in BC, our MSM landscape here would be a total nuclear apocalypse.

CC
 

I think the reference to "a US authority", Mary, may be the DEA (don't forget they have an office in Vancouver, or did).

Remember the shooting outside Gotham and the connection to the LA drug trade, and how that's part of how Bains came to run the Island drug trade?

Interesting, now that I think about it, that it took a US law enforcement agency to investigate corrupt political offices; they weren't looking to nail CN, or Campbell, they were looking to nail the drug connections. But once the file was opened, they found out all this other stuff....

And I still think the Securities and Exchange Commission, the free trade tribunals, GATT and other external and international bodies should be taking an interest in the idea that a US corporation participated in corrupt dealings with Canadian politicos over the sale/theft of a major public asset.....between OmniTRAX, CN's mostly-American ownership (despite its Canadian registration and home office/box office in Montreal), BNSF and The Washington Group.....this is as much an American legal case as it is a Canadian one.

But the DEA's only interested in drug dealers, not in corrupt deals between governments and corporations.

The SEC is, though......
 

I think the reference to "a US authority", Mary, may be the DEA (don't forget they have an office in Vancouver, or did).

Remember the shooting outside Gotham and the connection to the LA drug trade, and how that's part of how Bains came to run the Island drug trade?

Interesting, now that I think about it, that it took a US law enforcement agency to investigate corrupt political offices; they weren't looking to nail CN, or Campbell, they were looking to nail the drug connections. But once the file was opened, they found out all this other stuff....

And I still think the Securities and Exchange Commission, the free trade tribunals, GATT and other external and international bodies should be taking an interest in the idea that a US corporation participated in corrupt dealings with Canadian politicos over the sale/theft of a major public asset.....between OmniTRAX, CN's mostly-American ownership (despite its Canadian registration and home office/box office in Montreal), BNSF and The Washington Group.....this is as much an American legal case as it is a Canadian one.

But the DEA's only interested in drug dealers, not in corrupt deals between governments and corporations.

The SEC is, though......
 

Ahhh...The Washington Group, such an interesting and diverse company with long tentacles in BC.

There is very little wonder an American was hired as CEO of the BC Ferries (or what we call BC Ferries)..when the system is now under control of the Washington Group. (Not Washington as in State of - but Washington as in Dennis Washington of Montana). Less wonder as I see it, that the new ferries are built in Germany rather than BC, after all...why keep a nearby shipyard intact if it can compete with one from your own country? Or is there another reason for not even bidding on over 800 million dollars worth of BC ferry contracts?

Too, I wonder if the refits and maintenance work of the ferry fleet is being done in Puget Sound vs. Deas in North Van now? It's something Hahn/Collins were very anxious to get going with...wonder if they did?

After BC Rail is over, we need to take on what I consider questionable business transactions by the Campbell government as it relates to our ferry system. Another can of worms, same tactics, same outcome. Another Crown Corp gone to the US.
 

Leah,

Too right. What has kept me on the job, these past 4 years, was the certainty that what was done to BC Rail would be done to other priceless asset ... just like you say.

With the BC Rail Corruption Trial, we have this huge opportunity to open the closet doors ... and get the whole sorry picture.

Can you tell us more about Dennis Washington ...
.
 

Mary, I'll send you what I've collected over time about this ferry issue, and how/where Washington fits in. They built the fastcats...then picked them up for the firesale price of just over 19 million for all three at auction.

That was about two weeks after they offered the liberal government 60 million for the same ferries, and were turned down. A lousy political move by campbell that cost us taxpayers 40 million or so. Apparently Washington Marine in turn sold them to Abu Dhabi Mar for an undisclosed sum that has been leaked to be around the 100 million dollar mark - each!

Yeah, there's lots of interesting stuff to read - I'll send it to your email. It's obvious to me that we are going to have to go over every contract he ever signed while in the chair to find out how badly we've been screwed.

Hope you're doing really well Mary!
 

Many, many thanks, Leah. I look forward to that FastCat stuff.

How well I remember all that, and the propaganda war which took those ships away from us ... but I never knew that the Washington group referred to a man, and not the State of Washington.

What wonderful commentors we have here!!

I've been putting in 12- and 14-hour days in front of this computer since the trial began. Finding, copying, editing, and pasting items (accompanied by Internet glitches) is surprisingly un-smooth work. But can I stop??? No. Noooooo. Not for at least 6 or 8 weeks. And visitors to this blog have doubled in the past few days, too.

So haven't really had time to know if I'm doing well or not ... I just hope so! Thanks for your good wishes.
.
 

Just to clarify, a few corrections on the subject of the Washington Marine Group, a few facts:

WMG does not own any interest in BC Ferries. Although ownership is complex, BCFS is still a BC owned and controlled company.

WMG does own three shipyards in BC who do much of the major refit work and new construction work on the BCFS fleet. Thus it would not be in their interests at all to force construction offshore to Germany or to Puget Sound.

The three shipyards owned by WMG are really the only capacity in BC to build large new ferries, so it is most likely due to mistrust and anger from BCFS based on the Fast Ferry fiasco that WMG was not allowed to bid on the Coastal Class vessels that were built in Germany.

Deas Dock is in Richmond and still maintains a close association with BCFS doing minor repair work on the fleet. The WMG yards Vancouver Shipyard and Vancouver Drydock are in North Van.

People should definitely look into the handling of the Fast Ferry sale. It is very fishy that the government would sell those ships for what was, as far as I'm aware, less than their scrap value.