Friday, May 07, 2010

 

Gordon Campbell BC Rail Scandal - Part 4

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RobinMathews 

Robin Mathews

Friday, May 7, 2010

A Monstrous Canadian Miscarriage of Justice About To Unfold.

Part Four in the series on the Gordon Campbell BC Rail Scandal.

The miscarriage of justice about to unfold is what I call “the staged trial” about to begin (May 17) as a result of the corrupt transfer of publicly-owned BC Rail to privately (in fact) U.S.-owned CNR.

Canadians sleep-walk through the takeover of their society by thugs and political adventurists.  The signs are clear.  In Ottawa the cynical Stephen Harper attacks the Supremacy of Parliament [the fundamental safeguard against undemocratic takeover]. His power grab is debated as a question of the need to “compromise” on solutions to the denial of essential information to elected representatives. Those men and women, elected by Canadians, stand embarrassingly naked, (simply) stripped of their power to represent the people who elect them. (And their condition is blurred, misrepresented, and misreported by the “bought” mainstream press and media.)

In Alberta, government allies itself with corporations to produce a (planned) almost unsupervised looting of community and environment – in the tar sands rape.  The whole world notices what Canadians shut their eyes to. The April (Paris, France) ‘Le Monde diplomatique’ features a huge spread on the subject.  [translation] “The conservatives in power in Alberta have transformed, with the aid of Ottawa, the north of the province into a supermarket of dirty oil for the profit of multinationals and the U.S. neighbour.  The boreal forest is being sacrificed as are the first nations of the region.” The story concentrates on the cynical erasure of native rights –which in recent decades have been a  symbol that Canadian democracy was alive and demanding universal equality.

In British Columbia I allege that the Gordon Campbell government - aided by a depressingly servile journalism (mainstream and other) – is engaged in an almost incredible collaboration with RCMP, the higher courts, and the formal political Opposition (poster-group for the failure of Opposition in Canada) - asleep, bribed, or stupid – to hand the province to thugs and political adventurists.

That involves, as we will see, the calculated destruction of law and the administration of justice in the province.

Public wealth is being gifted to private corporations by sleight-of-hand, often in secret contracts, and – I allege – by criminal activity (elaborately uninvestigated by the RCMP).  The tax burden is being lifted from the corporations-in-close-cooperation with the Campbell group and laid on an increasingly impoverished population.  Education is being attacked.  Protection of children is being slashed by calculated legislation. The new Clean Energy Act is a simple ruse to destroy the publicly accountable B.C. Utilities Commission. A slow, continuous undermining of universal health care is – to the observing – a calculated, continuous government policy.

In short, all levels of accountability to the public for the use (and misuse) of government and corporate power are being undermined or destroyed outright in British Columbia.

The Canadian scene is mirrored throughout the Western World.  The  meltdown of financial institutions in the last years – and the present impoverishment of whole countries - is the result of government becoming an arm of private corporate behaviour.  So-called international institutions (the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc.) – which are in fact ruled from the U.S. - practice the destitution of nations to give advantage to private corporations.

In Venezuela – fiercely democratic – the foreign, private, corporate throttle-hold on natural wealth has been broken.  Poverty levels have fallen dramatically.  Health care and education for the population have increased hearteningly.  The financial state of the country is better than many in the European community AND the U.S. whose massive indebtedness is disguised behind pre-eminent military power. Unable to describe Venezuela as ‘communist’, ‘terrorist’ or ‘muslim fundamentalist’ U.S. Secretary of State Hiliary Clinton urges the country to return to health and the “market economy” as the U.S. builds (in violation of the Colombian constitution) more than a dozen new military bases in Colombia to “encircle” (?) Venezuela.

The Enron disaster was followed by the private banks collapse and the now on-going Goldman Sachs investigations.  Those are not the proverbial  “few rotten apples in a barrel”. They represent the barrel itself, rotten, and contaminating everything inside the barrel, a system of government-protected criminality intended to transfer power from the population (in fact) to the private corporations - and to effect that transfer globally.

That, in short, describes the practice of the Gordon Campbell government in British Columbia. I insist it is “a system of government-protected criminality intended to transfer power from the population to the private corporations”, and doubtless to the delight of Hiliary Clinton – in B.C. they are mostly private corporations integrated with or, in fact, a part of the U.S. corporate capitalist system.

How, you might ask … how does the trial of three really unimportant British Columbia cabinet aides (all of whom happen to be local Sikhs) for (variously) allegations of fraud, breach of trust, and money laundering (engaging in bribery for petty personal advantage, etc.) have anything to do with the global meltdown before our eyes?

Draw near.  Listen carefully.  I will tell you.

As the new century opened Gordon Campbell began his manipulations towards power in the province.  I believe he was involved in what I have come to call ‘the fraudulent investigation and trial of Glen Clark”, NDP premier accused of seeking benefits in the building of a ten or twelve thousand dollar sundeck on his modest Vancouver East home.  Clark was ruined as the result of a protracted public RCMP investigation and a 136 day trial (which found him innocent of all allegations of wrong doing).  B.C. press and media excelled themselves in yellow journalism. The RCMP investigation was highly suspicious. The NDP was left in disarray (and two former premiers called for a public inquiry into the whole matter).

Gordon Campbell came to power, wading through the sleaze created by what I believe were a wholly trumped-up investigation, trial, and media rape.

Campbell intended to destroy the major publicly owned sources of wealth in the province, to hand all natural wealth to private corporations, to shift taxes from those corporations to the public, and to create an increasingly disenfranchised population with a lower and lower standard of living. He has engaged in those activities since he took power. And he has built a huge tax-paid propaganda machine – as well as neutering the major press and media in the province – in order to complete his work in a fog of deception and misinformation.

Somehow he has been gifted with a formal political Opposition which appears (to me) to cooperate with his worst intentions by failing to provide effective criticism, public education, or action to bring his wrong doing to account.  That Opposition concentrates on whatever is trivial in the Campbell policy, NEVER providing analyses of the kind that is written here.

The first thrust of Gordon Campbell policy to destroy the publicly-owned, viable, and long-term wealth of the province began with the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR. (I believe that undertaking involves criminal wrong doing which the RCMP refuses to investigate.  Other privatizing activity of the Campbell government, I believe, as well, involves criminal wrong doing that goes relentlessly uninvestigated by RCMP.)  See the comment on my belief by RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass below.

The Campbell sleight-of-hand has been made possible by a shift of perception in the West – fostered constantly by the corporate press and media.  The courts and the police have accepted – almost blindly – that “government” activity, however plainly in breach of the trust placed in government by the voting population, MUST be seen as legitimate.

In the case of the BC Rail Scandal, I have concluded after years of study and attendance at the pre-trial hearings in court that Gordon Campbell and his associates constructed a wholly false picture of BC Rail.  Flying in the face of his election promise, they set to work by misrepresentation of fact, by actions to disable BC Rail efficiency, by fragmenting and disintegrating an effective structure, and by employing supporters, paid officers, and a large civil service to prepare an essentially fraudulent case for the “sale” of BC Rail to CNR.

As part of that program and policy they constructed a wholly false “public auction" and “open bidding process” for BC Rail which was – from the earliest point – intended to transfer and did transfer BC Rail to the CNR.

If – you may ask – the “fix” was in so early, and if the fraudulent policy was pursued with relentlessness, how did Gordon Campbell and his associates get trapped into permitting a criminal investigation of three really unimportant British Columbia cabinet aides who were small parts of the huge machinery set up to “sell” BC Rail.

The answer to that question necessarily involves some speculation.  As early as 2001 RCMP and Victoria police began a large investigation into growing drug activity.  The Force used wire-taps as well as other kinds of investigation.

As it investigated for at least 20 months, findings pointed in many directions – possible money laundering, Agricultural Land abuses, profits of crime, BC Rail misdoings, as well as drug trade activities.  Many RCMP officers became involved.  The investigation took on the name “every-which-way” and led, it is alleged, into B.C. legislature offices.

That is the point at which an “investigation crisis” appears to have been reached.  RCMP believed serious misconduct may have been involved in the preparations for sale of BC Rail.  Cabinet aides might be alleged to have been involved in the transfer of confidential cabinet information … for personal advantage.

At the same time, the cabinet - RCMP seems to have suspected – may have been engaged in highly questionable activity in the BC Rail affair.  Minister of Finance Gary Collins, for instance, was under surveillance … and was being investigated by RCMP.  Attention upon Collins had to connect with the rest of the cabinet and with Gordon Campbell, the architect and author of the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR.

That was in the fall and early winter of 2003.  That was the time when, apparently, certain matters came to an abrupt (and unrecorded) conclusion.  A few (at least) cabinet members and high civil servants were consulted about the coming (Dec. 28, 2003) search warrant “raids” on the legislature offices of Dave Basi and Bobby Virk (and some other offices and locations in Victoria and Vancouver).  No plan was on foot to examine the office of Minister of Finance Gary Collins or the office of Gordon Campbell.

Foreseeing that criminal charges would arise out of investigations, a Special Crown Prosecutor was sought.  More than one (in series) was appointed.  I have asked Attorney General Michael de Jong to review and report on the matter.  He won’t do it, and he won’t answer my last letter on the subject. (Seeking through a list for a Special Crown Prosecutor who will do the bidding of the Attorney General or his allies is a primary violation of the purpose of the Special Crown Prosecutor who is – by definition – someone who must be completely impartial AND be perceived to be so.)

We know that early in December, 2003, the RCMP had Gary Collins in their sights.  We know that William Berardino was appointed Special Crown Prosecutor on or about December 12.  And we know that - almost at that date – all investigation of Gary Collins ceased without any available record of termination.  We know that the now-famous search warrant raids on the legislature offices of Dave Basi and Bobby Virk were conducted on December 28 and that, immediately, the RCMP announced that no “elected” official was under investigation or would be.

From December 28, 2003, only Basi, Virk, and Basi were pursued.  Every Gordon Campbell cabinet member and every Campbell MLA was an “interested” party in the criminal trial to follow.  That is because the three cabinet aides charged (Basi, Virk, and Basi) were all servants of the cabinet and/or the “Campbell government”.  Cabinet and MLAs (and top civil servants) had to be “interested” because the three men were at work not only on “government business” generally but also specifically at work on the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to the CNR.

What began as a drug investigation shaped into a many-pronged effort, including search of the corrupt sale of BC Rail.  At a point in 2003, however, by what appears to have been an agreement between the cabinet and the RCMP, all investigation of “elected officials” ceased and all effort was focused on the three cabinet aides.

It is almost as if the RCMP said “we won’t end these months and months of investigation – and conduct raids on the legislature – without laying some charges.”  And it is as if the Campbell group said: “Okay, go after those three lackeys.  That’ll look good, and it’ll paper over the real authors of the fraudulent activity undertaken to dump BC Rail”.

Persistently requesting the RCMP to do a major, publicly announced investigation into wider aspects of criminal involvement in the BC Rail Scandal, I received another reply from Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass dated April 15, 2010.  In it he answers in a way which is so murky a reader might believe the RCMP is investigating … or that it is not.  Here are his words, for the reader to decide what Commanding Officer Bass is saying:

“Certain aspects of the sale of BC Rail are, as you know, still before the courts.  The RCMP does not comment publicly on investigations.  The rationale for this approach is to preserve the privacy rights of individuals as well as to maintain the integrity of our investigations.  I have every confidence that the operational units tasked with carriage of this and related matters will make sound decisions with respect to the appropriate steps that need to be taken.”

We know now, too, that William Berardino was appointed – flying in the face of all Crown Counsel, all Special (Crown) Prosecutor, and other relevant Prosecutor legislation – as Special Crown Prosecutor.  We know that he was appointed by a ministry in which the Attorney General, Geoff Plant, had been his partner and colleague for seven years.  The Deputy Attorney General, Allan Seckel, had been partner and colleague of Mr. Berardino for eleven years.  By every statement and every intention of legislation creating the position of Special (Crown) Prosecutor the appointment of William Berardino was improper.

As I said a little earlier, every member of cabinet (and every highly placed member of the civil service) was an “interested” party in the coming trial of the three cabinet aides.  And so the appointed Special Crown Prosecutor should have been someone who had no contact whatever with cabinet or high civil servants.  He (or she) should have been unassociated at any time with the three accused men AND with any member of cabinet and any high civil service operative.  Instead, William Berardino’s connections and contacts were high level, long term, and … one might fairly suspect …may have been the reason he was appointed to the post!

In 2005 (about two years after being appointed), when Geoff Plant very strangely left politics, Mr. Berardino contributed election money to the campaign of Plant’s replacement, Wally Oppal. (Mr. Oppal is presently facing a civil action for allegations of misusing the Attorney General role in the appointment of a Special Crown Prosecutor.) We know, too, that in the Spring of 2007 when Gordon Campbell may have felt endangered by cabinet evidence being revealed in the Basi, Virk, and Basi case, he unilaterally dissolved the working process by which Defence received cabinet materials believed relevant to the defence of the accused.

Campbell announced that authority for disclosure of cabinet materials would henceforth be placed in the hands of Allan Seckel, Deputy Attorney General.  Campbell added that Mr. Seckel would consult on the disclosure matters with the Special Crown Prosecutor William Berardino who just happened to have been a partner and colleague of Allan Seckel’s for eleven years – and only a few years before Seckel was named Deputy Attorney General.

The wrongful appointment of William Berardino alone, I believe, is grounds for stopping the actions arising from the corrupt sale of BC Rail to CNR – until a new Special (Crown) Prosecutor can be named and all investigations (and charges) completely reviewed and amplified to include persons alleged to have been centrally involved.

Even the Vancouver Sun – pretty obviously a supporter of the new private corporate form of government and of ‘the Gordon Campbell system’ - got trapped into admitting the real situation.  It declares that the present fiasco (only the most recent one) over a Special Crown Prosecutor gives no reason for “indictment of the B.C.’s special prosecutor system”.  Then it goes on to show (in fact) that Attorney Generals Geoff Plant, Wally Oppal, and now Michael de Jong  (in a row) have all misused the power to appoint.

The Sun editorial says (correctly) that Special Prosecutors “are senior lawyers in private practice who are hired in cases where there may be a perceived conflict of interest for a Crown prosecutor, usually because an alleged offence involves a politician, a senior public servant, a police officer or an employee in the justice system.”  [Sun, May 6, 2010 A14]

Geoff Plant was Attorney General when William Berardino was appointed.  Wally Oppal was the Attorney General who is presently facing a civil trial for allegedly rigging appointment of a Special Prosecutor in the  Bountiful bigamy case. And Michael de Jong sat unperturbed (and apparently unchecking) as Terry Robertson was appointed in the Solicitor General, Kash Heed affair.

Three Attorney Generals in a row messing up. That may be proof to the CanWest paper that the “system” is working.  It will not be proof to the rest of Canadians.

The revelations presented here, so far – only skimming the surface of the BC Rail Scandal – might fairly lead observers to some very negative conclusions.  In addition, the Attorney General’s ministry refuses to discuss the appointment of Mr. Berardino on the false grounds that his appointment (in 2003) is included in present sub judice matters in the present Basi, Virk, and Basi case.  Now, Michael de Jong refuses to respond in any way to correspondence on the matter.  He is trying, I believe, to escape facing the wrongful appointment by disappearing into silence.

By the same token, the Chief Justice of the B.C. Supreme Court, the Associate Chief Justice, and the trial judge – Madam Justice Anne MacKenzie refuse to discuss Mr. Berardino’s wrongful appointment.  They have not answered my last letter on the gravity of the matter.

In addition, RCMP Deputy Commissioner Gary Bass refuses (as far as I have been able to determine by asking him directly) to move in any way to undertake public criminal investigation of Gordon Campbell and his associates in the corrupt transfer of BC Rail to CNR.

One negative conclusion is that the three accused men – whatever their guilt or innocence -  have been chosen, targetted, and set-up to provide a focus of wrong in the BC Rail Scandal in order to provide cover for those I believe, are the major and dominating people in what was a concerted policy and program involving (at least) criminal breach of trust.

To put the matter in the context of the breakdown of democratic accountability all over the Western world, I firmly believe the major “protective” institutions in the province are engaged in the calculated destruction of the law and the administration of justice in the province.  By the major “protective” institutions I mean the Attorney General’s ministry (the cabinet), some major Supreme Court officers, the BC RCMP, the mainstream press and media, and the conventional political Opposition party in B.C.

In short “the system” being operated in British Columbia at the present is more and more one in which criminality is protected and/or participated in by government, police, press, and the courts.  The criminality may – incidentally – provide access to ‘dirty wealth’ for some individuals.  But its primary purpose is to transfer power from the population to private corporations greedy for more and more “governmental” power.  The purpose of the present system in British Columbia is to end meaningful democratic, representational government and democratic accountability.

That is why the Gordon Campbell government is tripping over its feet every day now.  And it is why – as things stand – the trial of Dave Basi, Bobby Virk, and Aneal Basi  (scheduled to start on May 17) can be nothing but a huge, fraudulent, theatrical event.


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The BC corruption story has found its legs and is travelling. I haven't posted all the findings because, as I've said previously, it's the same story repeated over and over again about the Special Prosecutors and their alleged conflict of interests. But I thought this one was geographically  interesting ... whoever heard
of Wapakoneta, Ohio?  But here's the story of Bill Berardino in Wapakoneta Ohio  Daily News - headlined
BC Rail prosecutor defends Liberal donation
Wapakoneta Daily News www.wapakdailynews.com/content/view/156067/77/
[but for some reason, they won't let us see it until we get "authorized"!]

Comments:
An awesome essay as usual Robin. But to add some context to this part:

"As the new century opened Gordon Campbell began his manipulations towards power in the province. I believe he was involved in what I have come to call ‘the fraudulent investigation and trial of Glen Clark”"

A preliminary step on Gordo the Greedy's ascent to head thief and liar was the drive by character assasination of Gordon Wilson. This was necessary so that Lord Gord could become leader of the BC Liberals (who actually were kinda like the federal brand at the time - center or even a bit left of center ). Normally Gord would have become leader of the Socred party, but it had been debased by the younger Bennett and then even moreso, though more trivially by Bill VanderZalm.

I find it especially rich that Gordo should have wrested the party from the other Gordon under such circumstances, considering the state of Gordo's domestic secret life today. For all the pain that Gordon Wilson and Judy Tyabi undoubtably caused themselves and their families, at least they eventually resolved things and are now married, OPENLY, to each other. In the bad Gordo's case it would appear there is at least one child(and one or two folks have mentioned a possible second) that for all practical purposes do not exist, just like Lara Dauphinee must be some kind of vampire that cannot be captured by film or digital photography.

I wonder how it feels to be a child, especially of a well known (and well hated) figure and essentially NOT EVEN EXIST? What kind of adult will this person become? Probably a criminal, as the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

When one considers how petty were the scandals and cover-ups that brought Dick Nixon down after winning the largest margin of victory ever in 1972 compared to the rampant crime spree underway under Gordo, it is difficult to imagine that once the dike breaks these guys won't be at the least out of office and more appropriately incarcerated and forced to wear an ankle bracelet for life if ever paroled.

Otherwise, we may as well move elsewhere and leave what's left of BC to join with Alberta to form a new post-democratic country that can join the axis of evil and greed and form a coalition with such as North Korea, Myanmar, Iran and Columbia. BC is well on the way to outlaw status, they already ignore UN sanctions, signed contracts, and court rulings -and "due process" is a meaningless term in this jurisdiction already.
 
Well written Robin. i found it odd that Mr. Berardino cleared his own conflict by donating $600 to the BC Liberal party and ignoring the issues around BC Liberal party contracts.

Shame on him
 
In the case of the BC Rail Scandal, I have concluded after years of study and attendance at the pre-trial hearings in court that Gordon Campbell and his associates constructed a wholly false picture of BC Rail. Flying in the face of his election promise, they set to work by misrepresentation of fact, by actions to disable BC Rail efficiency, by fragmenting and disintegrating an effective structure, and by employing supporters, paid officers, and a large civil service to prepare an essentially fraudulent case for the “sale” of BC Rail to CNR.

Just a side note that this is exactly also what conservatives, small-c and Large-C, have also been doing to universal health care....since the Mulroney years....

And I agree with koot, the full story of Campbell's sordid rise to power is not just his railroading ("decking"?) of Glen Clark, but the campaign to dethrone Gordon Wilson from the head of the Liberal Party; the guy who redeemed that long-defunct name and built what seemed like a new middle of the road party, but after Campbell's takoever became more rabidly right-wing than the first draft of the national Reform Party (and including same of the very same people). And Marintines, well, glad ot make any allies west of the mountains at all, struck various deals with the devil.

One of them was a deal on the devil could contrive; expose Gordon Wilson for adultery and shunt Gordon Campbell into the leadership position...I do wonder what inside poop Gordon Gibson Jr. might have to say about all this, if he could drop party ranks and speak frankly....because from the date of his ascension, the Premier's side has been cloven to by his mysterious personal assistant...NOT by his own apparently far-too-patient and evidently compliant wife, cuckolded as she apparently seems to be. And as per Kevin Potvin's now-famous article about Campbell being a made man, this is one of the several things about Campbell that the media, and not just CanWest drones, won't go anywhere near.

Why is Lara Dauphinee so protected? Who is she? Why is she a central player in teh govenrment, not just taking Gordo's dictation and carrying his bag, but also running the propaganda arm of the government, and also access to the Premier. And hiring and firing of special political appointees by Messrs Basi, Virk and Basi. I wouldn't be surprised to find she had a hand in the Special Prosecutor Shuffle, and in the game of Musical Judges.

But who is she, really? Where does she come from? (politically I mean, in terms of connections, beliefs etc; we know she went to Western but that's about it...) Why is she being protected? Why is Campbell kept frmo being judged by the same hammer of prurient interest he and his henchmen used to lay waste to the Wilson Liberals?? Is she Dick Cheney's god daughter, or some other American "agent", assigned to subvert the government of British Columbia to bring it under US control (because, in fact, there was an old Reagan-era State Department report singling out BC and Alberta as the only provinces worth acquiring, should the success of the Parti Quebecois and/or Bloc Quebecois bring about a collapse of Confederation).

(cont....)
 
(....cont.)

Given her high position, why isn't her resume on the public record??
It seems fairly logical that the Defence team will call her to the stand; that's another point that the editorialists at the Big Rags have stayed away from. I have no doubt that she's capable of lying her face off, but that's another matter. What we really need to know, as also with ACJ Ann Mackenzie, is who the hell is she and where did she come from? And how much longer will she be hidden in the media's dirty-laundry closet?

And about those two separate civil service positions/titles she holds - does she get one salary, or two? And do we have access to an itemized version of her expense account? The bills for Sarah Palin's campaign couture are petty drivel by comparison....

On Bill Tieleman's Facebook page today he asks a question that I'll only provide my response to here, because he doesn't want stuff about Gordo and Lara on any of the pages connected to him:

.... did Gordon Campbell's popularity drop faster than the BC Place roof deflated - or faster than Kash Heed's second cabinet appointment? Just wondering.

My answer: "Faster than Lara left Maui".....

And then there's the matter of those strange warrants, still sealed, with their falsified address, their extraterritorial signing, their "judge shopping", and how the judge who signed them turns out to be the only person who saw all the documents that were seized, and also single-handedly went through them with a black felt pen, "redacting" them? And then intervened in the pre-trial hearings, pressured a judge to get off the case (evidently), and hand-picked the judge who's re-sealed (or tried to) all the information that her predecessor expressly opened up for the sake of the public interest. And then succeeded the man who appointed her, despite an otherwise lacklustre or at best low-profile career on the bench thus far. Her appointment has overtones of the same reward-for-expeditious deeds that the Special Prosecutor appointments do.... and she shows even less interest in the deleted emails issue than her predecessor did.....

And there's a loose thread in this bit about Liberal Party donations.....did ACJ Dohm make any camapaign contributions? ACJ Mackenzie?? And any of the investigating RCMP or other police on the case??
 
In the case of the BC Rail Scandal, I have concluded after years of study and attendance at the pre-trial hearings in court that Gordon Campbell and his associates constructed a wholly false picture of BC Rail. Flying in the face of his election promise, they set to work by misrepresentation of fact, by actions to disable BC Rail efficiency, by fragmenting and disintegrating an effective structure, and by employing supporters, paid officers, and a large civil service to prepare an essentially fraudulent case for the “sale” of BC Rail to CNR.

Just a side note that this is exactly also what conservatives, small-c and Large-C, have also been doing to universal health care....since the Mulroney years....

And I agree with koot, the full story of Campbell's sordid rise to power is not just his railroading ("decking"?) of Glen Clark, but the campaign to dethrone Gordon Wilson from the head of the Liberal Party; the guy who redeemed that long-defunct name and built what seemed like a new middle of the road party, but after Campbell's takoever became more rabidly right-wing than the first draft of the national Reform Party (and including same of the very same people). And Marintines, well, glad ot make any allies west of the mountains at all, struck various deals with the devil.

One of them was a deal on the devil could contrive; expose Gordon Wilson for adultery and shunt Gordon Campbell into the leadership position...I do wonder what inside poop Gordon Gibson Jr. might have to say about all this, if he could drop party ranks and speak frankly....because from the date of his ascension, the Premier's side has been cloven to by his mysterious personal assistant...NOT by his own apparently far-too-patient and evidently compliant wife, cuckolded as she apparently seems to be. And as per Kevin Potvin's now-famous article about Campbell being a made man, this is one of the several things about Campbell that the media, and not just CanWest drones, won't go anywhere near.

Why is Lara Dauphinee so protected? Who is she? Why is she a central player in teh govenrment, not just taking Gordo's dictation and carrying his bag, but also running the propaganda arm of the government, and also access to the Prmier. And hiring and firing of special political appointees by Messrs Basi, Virk and Basi. I wouldn't be surprised to find she had a hand in the Special Prosecutor Shuffle, and in the game of Musiical Judges.

But who is she, really? Where does she come from? Why is she being protected? Why is Campbell kept frmo being judged by the same hammer of prurient interest he and his henchmen used to lay waste to the Wilson Liberals?? Is she Dick Cheney's god daughter, or some other American "agent", assigned to subvert the government of British Columbia to bring it under US control (because, in fact, there was an old Reagan-era State Department report singling out BC and Alberta as the only provinces worth acquiring, should the success of the Parti Quebecois and/or Bloc Quebecois bring about a collapse of Confederation).

(cont'd)
 
continuing ...

It seems fairly logical that the Defence team will call her to the stand; that's another point that the editorialists at the Big Rags have stayed away from. I have no doubt that she's capable of lying her face off, but that's another matter. What we really need to know, as also with ACJ Ann Mackenzie, is who the hell is she and where did she come from? And how much longer will she be hidden in the media's dirty-laundry closet?

And about those two separate civil service positions/titles she holds - does she get one salary, or two? And do we have access to an itemized version of her expense account? The bills for Sarah Palin's campaign couture are petty drivel by comparison....

On Bill Tieleman's Facebook page today he asks a question that I'll only provide my response to here, because he doesn't want stuff about Gordo and Lara on any of the pages connected to him:

.... did Gordon Campbell's popularity drop faster than the BC Place roof deflated - or faster than Kash Heed's second cabinet appointment? Just wondering.

My answer: "Faster than Lara left Maui".....

And then there's the matter of those strange warrants, still sealed, with their falsified address, their extraterritorial signing, their "judge shopping", and how the judge who signed them turns out to be the only person who saw all the documents that were seized, and also single-handedly went through them with a black felt pen, "redacting" them? And then intervened in the pre-trial hearings, pressured a judge to get off the case (evidently), and hand-picked the judge who's re-sealed (or tried to) all the information that her predecessor expressly opened up for the sake of the public interest. And then succeeded the man who appointed her, despite an otherwise lacklustre or at best low-profile career on the bench thus far. Her appointment has overtones of the same reward-for-expeditious deeds that the Special Prosecutor appointments do.... and she shows even less interest in the deleted emails issue than her predecessor did.....
 
I want to see the trial and the outcome. If there are problems, the expensive lawyers of the defence, paid for by you and i, will show them all.

I liked the laura dauphinee comment. If Campbell has a child, a reporter should tell us about that. After all, he is the leader, a public figure. i would like to know whay he is up to.

is that daft?

rodger
 
Great article Robin

Now we know why they are called “SPECIAL” Prosecutors. Give enough money to the Lieberals and the fix will be in.
Even the sleaziest banana republic would blush at what goes on in BC’s legal system.

Change doesn’t come from the top down it comes from the bottom up.

When the people of BC get mad enough to march in the streets and string up a few politicians only than will the cleansing start.

CGHZD
 
Many thanks to you Robin

At one time the people believed that they were an important part of how the country was governed. The people could determine the course government was to take.Here in British Columbia it is government officials working in secret without constraint,making decisions that have not been tested reviewed or examined. Decisions that would normally be made to improve policy for the people are now being made to improve policy for Liberal friends and insiders. Unless checked this lawless power will continue to grow. The Liberal government is acting outside its prescribed role. Using their unchecked power to control access to information that would certainly expose it. Democracy is threatened! JW
 
Robin, kootcoot, skookum, keep it going.

Great thanks,
CC
 
Great analysis Skookum1, one which requires further examination and answers after reading the Potvin article and trying to find information about Ms. Dauphinee. You're right, it's like falling into a big black hole, isn't it? How odd.

I find the rocketing career of someone just out of university in Ontario, after obtaining a degree in a course called International Politics (which I couldn't find) coming out to BC and nabbing a simple constituency office job to be a little "off." Then to jump from a mere "office worker" to chief of his staff and whatever else she does...is totally amazing! Totally contrived too.

Here is what I think. Over the past 8 years in BC and Canada as a whole, all the social network systems we've built in our history are being willfully and systematically torn down...in an effort to align us with the European Union. Our resources are being sold to foreign countries, major corporations as well. Canadians now own nothing truly Canadian. All sold off.

Few people are paying attention to the fact that we are now in round 3 of negotiations, and fewer still have a clue about what we're about to lose on a very permanent basis. They ought to know, perhaps if they did - politicians wouldn't be so flippant about our opinions. They might actually fear us more, which all good governments should.

I think Lara is perhaps the conduit for the orders that GC was to follow to bring BC into compliance (just look at how we're complying with many issues over the past six months, the ePassport is another compliance) so they wouldn't have to fight the citizens come time for the big roll-over. His orders, come from her. Protecting her is his first priority, obviously. Her orders come from the international business community, and foreign governments. After all, it wouldn't be the first time a woman's femininity has been used to gain control of not only a man, but his government as well. And she definitely does that.

Anonymous 2010
 
Well said. Check out Moya Greene while you’re at it. She was the one responsible for privatizing CN which paved the way for the sell out of B.C. Rail. Now she has been mandated to do the same thing to Canada Post.
 
Rock Lester,

Whatcha talkin' about?

Can you give us a source?
.
 
http://www.moyagreene.com/


Have a look
 
“That, in short, describes the practice of the Gordon Campbell government in British Columbia. I insist it is “a system of government-protected criminality intended to transfer power from the population to the private corporations”, and doubtless to the delight of Hiliary Clinton – in B.C. they are mostly private corporations integrated with or, in fact, a part of the U.S. corporate capitalist system.”

Your article echos a comment I made on the Gazetteer's blog about the casino business in Vancouver -

"A little comparison -

I'm reviewing Coppola's Godfather series and just listened to the director's comments for Godfather Part II.

You remember - the godfather is negotiating a deal with the Cuban dictatorship on the eve of the revolution and Batista steps down and leaves the country. The images show people smashing slot machines in the street, as the elite rush the docks to escape the island...

Coppola's comments rang loud and clear - he says "it was important to the people to destroy the slot machines because they were the instruments of these gangsters who had taken over their city."

Coppola also refers to American corporate investment in Cuba before the revolution - "leaders of many companies came to do business ... symbolic of how American capitalism, including the gangsters, had zeroed in on Cuba and were really owning and operating it."

I haven't yet heard Campbell's gov't, nor Harper's gov't, referred to as "gangsters" but with all the recent activities I think it's coming..."

Thanks for your wonderful opinion pieces. I am heartened by your clear thinking!
 
Just Google Moya Greene: http://www.moyagreene.com
 
" it may seem odd to have names doubled and tripled up, but it was the way I sorted the data in Excel.
"

Really? I constantly refer to them as gangsters, thieves and criminals. In fact I constantly refer to the BC liaR party as the Campbell Crime Family over at the House of Infamy

Of course Harper and his band of hypocrites I often call the Canadian Taliban because of things like Stockwell Day's belief that the earth is 6,000 years or less old and that Steven Harper's great grand daddy had a tame dinosaur.
 
Moya Greene.
type this into search engine and see what shows up.theres even a website with this name .com
 
Wow. That explains a lot, maybe, about how Tim Horton's has become an icon of tarted-up Canadian nationalism. Like it's unpatriotic to not like double-doubles etc....
 
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that, like most everything else in Canada, Tim Horton's was now an American Corporation!
 
Moya Greene: An older version of Lara Dauphinee with blonde hair.
 
well, it owns Wendy's....or is owned by Wendys....but money has no nationality, really, it's just money. But yeah my impression is that it's American which is why the tub-thumping about how "all" Canadians are double-doubles and ripping hte brim to win or whatever is all just marketing; the same way MacDonald's and Visa tried to use Canadian nationalism/patriotism during the Olympics; Tim's did it a long time ago....I remember when it was new in BC, a sign of things eastern; now it's "mainstream" within BC...clever positioning/marketing...but also bear in mind that it's really just a franchising operation; a friend her was working for the outlet on the Dal campus; but though it's a Tim's it's operated/owned by Sodexho.

BTW did you not feel it a bit odd to have a noted African-American (Morgan Freeman) intoning about "us" and "we" (as Canadians) in the Olympic Visa commercials?
 
Tim's isn't owned by Wendy's any longer. Tim's shares were spun off in an new IPO a few years ago when it became it was the only division of Wendy's that was making any money.
Here's the dope from a couple of years ago:

http://www.canadiancapitalist.com/tim-hortons-ipo-vital-statistics/
 
Mary, I tried to get to the Wapakoneta News too...same thing as you. Not authorized.

I did find out that they are owned by Horizon Publications, an American company...that also happens to own:

Kelowna Daily Courier, Kelowna, BC

Penticton Herald, Penticton, BC

Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal, Thunder Bay, ON

Lethbridge Herald, Lethbridge, AB

Medicine Hat News, Medicine Hat, AB

I wonder what it might take to get this story circulated a little more widely? It might be time to let the world know that Canada wrote the book on corruption...similar to our many other "inventions."
 
Is that the same publisher that has Horizon Magazine? Not a political rag, real nice travelogue sorta publication.

I suspect a link to the train-fan community; re the Wapakoneta News I mean...it's one group of Americans who are very aware not just about the railway scandal but were fans of the passenger service....
 
Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.......
http://www.wapakdailynews.com/component/option,com_wrapper/Itemid,85/

Don't you know, Neil Armstrong who was the first man to walk on the moon was born and raised in Wapakoneta.

This link will get you inside Wapakoneta Daily News without signing in. As to "BC Rail prosecutor defends Liberal donation" you have to be careful in this day and age of searching the internet. Headlines from around the world are being embedded in search results just to get you to look at the hits, only to find that "BC Rail prosecutor defends Liberal donation", for example, isn't covered in the material at all.
 
N.V.G.,

What would we do without you! I've encountered that brick wall many times and always blamed Google for sloppy harvesting.

Never entered my mind that the public's normal, healthy interest in news of our world, is nothing more than a bit of cheddar cheese for baiting some rat's trap.

If you get my drift.
.
 
The way inside these "locked" sites is at the search page.... where you found the headlines that grab your attention, CLICK on the word "cached" which is a mirror image of the real thing..... and "Awwwwway you go" as Ed Sullivan used to say in introducing his guests.

NVG
 
Robin, an excellent big picture post. We cannot look at these corruptions as isolated from eachother. Each day that passes you see the big picture endgame unfolding. Greece, Spain, Iceland, BC. This is a global hostile takeover, and by the time we reach critical mass on educating the public, it will already be a fait accompli.

We live in the time where we must rebel, rise up against the entire colonial system. Enshrine our right to print our own money, via BoC. The feds are planning to restructure the military top down after 2011. How do you think that will work for us?

Right now, the military is still a mostly honourable force, especially in the rank and file. That window is going to close soon, as the training and indoctrination switches its focus to domestic enemies of the state. Thats potentially anybody who posts the truth.

Its too easy to dismiss my comments as conspiracy theory, which is typically how the right wing media would characterise it and discredit the truth. But what are we going to do with this evident truth?

I am ready to stand up for the Canada that my grandmothers carved. Any one of you would have my back. Thanks again.
 
Enshrine our right to print our own money, via BoC.

What's interesting about the global sovereign debt/currency crisis is what Jane Jacobs had to say in her Cities and the Wealth of Nations and the shorter essay The Wealth Of Cities which appeared in Harper's.....

Her thesis was that large-scale currencies wound up creating situations where the currency could not reflect the economic needs of smaller, depressed areas; that localized currencies were preferable and instigated economic revival; that macro-currencies were inherently subsidizing failed economies and keeping them on the outs.....I can't summarize it more adequately than that, as it's been quite a while since I read her, but the Greek debt's situation within the Eurosphere makes her work seem like a prophecy rather than an analysis. Though at times she seemed definitely to be writing about Canada, though never explicitly by name (she lived in Toronto), and the entrenchment of long-term depressed areas like the Maritimes and Newfoundland and BC's "outback" towns as ways to keep the city economies "healthy"....

Iceland was a bit different, though; that was banking speculators run amok, offering credit without capital to back it up; and they're withing the Euro system - unlike Thailand etc which still had their own highly deflatable currencies. The only difference with China's banks is that they're so many and so huge nobody dares to call their chips as it would collapse the whole schmeer.

As was pointed out on John Stewart last night, the only reason Germany is bailing Greece out is, if they don't and Greece is forced to return to the drachma, then Spain, Portugal and other smaller, weaker economies will also withdraw from the Euro zone and still need subsidy, rescue.....

I'm not an economist and am fumbling in the dark trying to explain what I've read/understood, but Kim is largely right: Big Money is harvesting capital from Small Money right now, like a scythe reaping the field. Big Currencies are part of the machinery of that, and the motives are not altruistic in the slightest.....

I'll always remember the Socreds yammering about "levelling the playing field" back in the '80s, meaning rolling Canadian wages and lfiestyles back to the same as those of Brazil and Indonesia for us to "remain competitive".

Hell, might as well re-institute serfdom, since we've already got feudalism back.....
 
Jane Jacobs, of course, also lived in New York before the family moved to Toronto in 1968. In New York she was very politically active in fighting the destruction of neighborhoods for what would have been only temporarily functional freeway construction. She managed to organize people to stop Robert Moses from destroying Lower Manhattan the way he had previously run over the locals to destroy the Bronx with his freeway dreams. It is thanks to her to a great extent that the Big Apple has retained much of its character and sense of neighborhoods.
 
I agree, the western provinces should separate from the east. It was said the western provinces would be 40% better off. The west could keep our tax dollars in the west. We could expel tyrants such as, Campbell and Hansen and their dictatorship Liberal government. We all know, Campbell works for Harper. Seems the M.P.'s down east, are also saying. Harper is a fascist, and far too stubborn, to work with. Some are saying, Campbell is really a Conservative. To be free of corruption, and other dirty deeds, the West and the Territories, would be better off on our own. Can't trust the Liberals, the Conservatives, the NDP are silent. We westerners need to be on our own.
 
Should British Columbians Have A Public Inquiry In Relation To The Sale Of B.C. Rail?

Simple Poll Here

http://bcrailpoll.wordpress.com/
 
I am a grandmother and (naturalized Canadian citizen) and am very worried about the state of BC for my grandchildren/great grandchildren. Ever since the Liberal party was elected in BC I have been concerned. It seems to me that we the people that voted the Liverals in have had nothing to say about the selling off of BC's resources for instance BC Rail. British Columbians must STOP being so placent about the politics in BC if you don't start fighting against corruption now the province/Canada will eventually belong to the "Godfathers" of the world. Canadians be vigilant, for the sake of you children and future family. Bodie
 
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