Friday, November 12, 2010
Court delays make mockery of justice
.
.
BC Mary comment: For those readers who are good at breaking codes, what do you think this brief editorial is trying to tell us??
Editorial
The Province - November 12, 2010
The Basi-Virk political corruption trial finally ended last month after seven years of legal proceedings. Yes, seven years. [Beep! Wrong! Police raided the Legislature 7 years ago; Basi-Virk trial was set to begin 4-1/2 years ago, in June 2006. - BC Mary.]
And earlier this week, we learned that federal prosecutors were seeking to overturn a judge's decision to stay charges against two men charged in a major cocaine conspiracy case . . . in 2004.
The judge, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask, had ruled a five-year delay in the trial was unreasonable and violated their Charter rights.
Now, of course, the case appears set to drag on even longer.
We would not, of course, presume to side with one set of lawyers over the other in such a serious case. But we do seriously question why it takes so long these days to mete out justice. [Stifled mirth. M.]
It's not just high-profile criminal cases that are plagued with delays. {Snip} ...
Justice delayed really is justice denied -- for the individuals involved, the community and the administration of justice.
Read more, HERE:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Court+delays+make+mockery+justice/3817136/story.html#ixzz1550XVpsz
BC Mary comment: And here's a daily B.C. newspaper, trying to tell us things we need to know, and being blocked. Be impressed by their reference to Harold Evans, one of the world's great editors who is responsible for fighting the long dirty battle with U.K. government and pharma corporations to finally reveal the horrors of the prescription drug Thalidamide, being widely given to pregnant women to prevent morning sickness and which produced babies without arms, legs, or both. That's Harold Evans. And bless them, here's what the Prince George Citizen has been trying to do, to walk in those footsteps:
None of Your Business
The PG Citizen - Oct. 29, 2010
Harold Evans, former editor of the Times and Sunday Times of London once defined news as “something that someone doesn’t want you to know”.
If you accept that definition, then there is lots of news in Prince George and BC that someone doesn’t want you to know. {Snip ... }
Judge Le Bel of the Supreme Court also made it clear that journalist[s] should never be sub poenaed to testify or divulge sources if there are other means available to obtain that same information.
Closer to home we have become accustomed to governments and their agencies hiding behind back room deals that include so called “confidentiality” provisions, whereby defendants are not permitted as part of the settlement to talk about the details.
Just ask Gordon Campbell about the BC Rail Scandal settlement last week, part of which included that provision.
As a newspaper serving Prince George and Northern BC, The Citizen made a commitment 2 years ago that we would buck the trend and dedicate people and resources to doing investigative reporting.
During that time, we have spent thousands of dollars in fees for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for governments and non profit agencies to tell us “news” that they don’t want you the taxpayer to know. That they feel is none of your business.
Some of the FOI’s we have been forced to file are
1.A copy of the 2015 Winter Games Bid telling us what the City has committed us to financially
2. Salary details for the new CEO of the Prince George Tourism Association, 3. The details surrounding the purchase of the Chances Gaming Centre property and the PG Hotel
4. BC Housing audit on the Metis Housing Authority
5. details of the Heller Report
6. Regional District Firefighter’s Training Centre
7. Salary details for senior staff at City Hall.
As you can see the list is varied, but there is a common theme with all of them. Taxpayer funded organizations and non profits refusing to tell you how they are spending your money, or the details of controversial issues relating to their operations.
As for The Citizen, we will continue to fulfill one of the prime mandates of a newspaper in a democracy, which is to hold powerful institutions and individuals accountable by forcing them to tell us the “news”.
Read more HERE.
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/article/20101029/PRINCEGEORGE0302/310299966/none-of-your-business
With thanks to our faithful reader "E.M." for spotting this item.
.
BC Mary comment: For those readers who are good at breaking codes, what do you think this brief editorial is trying to tell us??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editorial
The Province - November 12, 2010
The Basi-Virk political corruption trial finally ended last month after seven years of legal proceedings. Yes, seven years. [Beep! Wrong! Police raided the Legislature 7 years ago; Basi-Virk trial was set to begin 4-1/2 years ago, in June 2006. - BC Mary.]
And earlier this week, we learned that federal prosecutors were seeking to overturn a judge's decision to stay charges against two men charged in a major cocaine conspiracy case . . . in 2004.
The judge, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask, had ruled a five-year delay in the trial was unreasonable and violated their Charter rights.
Now, of course, the case appears set to drag on even longer.
We would not, of course, presume to side with one set of lawyers over the other in such a serious case. But we do seriously question why it takes so long these days to mete out justice. [Stifled mirth. M.]
It's not just high-profile criminal cases that are plagued with delays. {Snip} ...
Justice delayed really is justice denied -- for the individuals involved, the community and the administration of justice.
Read more, HERE:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Court+delays+make+mockery+justice/3817136/story.html#ixzz1550XVpsz
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
BC Mary comment: And here's a daily B.C. newspaper, trying to tell us things we need to know, and being blocked. Be impressed by their reference to Harold Evans, one of the world's great editors who is responsible for fighting the long dirty battle with U.K. government and pharma corporations to finally reveal the horrors of the prescription drug Thalidamide, being widely given to pregnant women to prevent morning sickness and which produced babies without arms, legs, or both. That's Harold Evans. And bless them, here's what the Prince George Citizen has been trying to do, to walk in those footsteps:
None of Your Business
The PG Citizen - Oct. 29, 2010
Harold Evans, former editor of the Times and Sunday Times of London once defined news as “something that someone doesn’t want you to know”.
If you accept that definition, then there is lots of news in Prince George and BC that someone doesn’t want you to know. {Snip ... }
Judge Le Bel of the Supreme Court also made it clear that journalist[s] should never be sub poenaed to testify or divulge sources if there are other means available to obtain that same information.
Closer to home we have become accustomed to governments and their agencies hiding behind back room deals that include so called “confidentiality” provisions, whereby defendants are not permitted as part of the settlement to talk about the details.
Just ask Gordon Campbell about the BC Rail Scandal settlement last week, part of which included that provision.
As a newspaper serving Prince George and Northern BC, The Citizen made a commitment 2 years ago that we would buck the trend and dedicate people and resources to doing investigative reporting.
During that time, we have spent thousands of dollars in fees for Freedom of Information (FOI) requests for governments and non profit agencies to tell us “news” that they don’t want you the taxpayer to know. That they feel is none of your business.
Some of the FOI’s we have been forced to file are
1.A copy of the 2015 Winter Games Bid telling us what the City has committed us to financially
2. Salary details for the new CEO of the Prince George Tourism Association, 3. The details surrounding the purchase of the Chances Gaming Centre property and the PG Hotel
4. BC Housing audit on the Metis Housing Authority
5. details of the Heller Report
6. Regional District Firefighter’s Training Centre
7. Salary details for senior staff at City Hall.
As you can see the list is varied, but there is a common theme with all of them. Taxpayer funded organizations and non profits refusing to tell you how they are spending your money, or the details of controversial issues relating to their operations.
As for The Citizen, we will continue to fulfill one of the prime mandates of a newspaper in a democracy, which is to hold powerful institutions and individuals accountable by forcing them to tell us the “news”.
Read more HERE.
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/article/20101029/PRINCEGEORGE0302/310299966/none-of-your-business
With thanks to our faithful reader "E.M." for spotting this item.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
I'd like Prince George Citizen to prepare a full report on that mysterious figure who is "never far from the premier's side" as Deputy Chief of Staff and his Executive Assistant with the largest expense account in provincial employment, but who is never mentioned in press releases, never shown in official photo ops., and apparently for whom only 4 photos exist, two of which I was refused permission to publish on this blog. Some of the Basi-Virk documents bear her signature ... Lara Dauphinee. As long as she hides, is she really accountable to the people who pay her salary?
""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Comments:
<< Home
And just ,who delayed?I read this priceless trash this morning,as far as I'm concerned,this crap should be retitled government delay's make a mockery of justice or courts and government collusion make a mockery of justice.
# posted by 
: November 12, 2010 at 9:59 a.m.
: November 12, 2010 at 9:59 a.m.
Thanks Mary for bringing the exemplary journalistic integrity of the Prince George Citizen to our attention.
This is just one of the very valuable things your blog is doing to restore sanity and democracy to BC.
I will bookmark the Prince George Citizen for regular visits.
CC
This is just one of the very valuable things your blog is doing to restore sanity and democracy to BC.
I will bookmark the Prince George Citizen for regular visits.
CC
# posted by : November 12, 2010 at 10:39 a.m.
: November 12, 2010 at 10:39 a.m.
Thanks, C.C., but let's keep watching the Prince George Citizen ...
I remember them differently, from bygone years. I didn't know that they'd had an epiphany about 2 years ago ...
so I'll be watching closely and hoping for the best. I really do sincerely hope that they have weighed the desperate situation and have decided to be straight with their readers.
Honest to gosh, did I just say that? Has it come to this? Sometimes, it's too dark a world we've made for ourselves ...
Digression: at lunch, I was listening to two Very Respectable Ladies chatting about the lovely times they'd had on Gambling Tours. They had visited Niagara Falls on bargain deals too good to pass up. "And we could see the falls from our bedroom window!" The other said, "I made so much money I went out and bought a leather coat!"
I shoulda told them they'd just been "had" by Organized Crime which could easily afford the cheap tickets as bribes to get them into a gambling ... and that casinos were the Money-Launderers' dream ... and that they needed to have a hot shower and re-start their priorities ... but I didn't. I finished my lunch and left early. So who's at fault here, eh?
So thanks for your very kind words, C.C. Some days, they are very important.
.
I remember them differently, from bygone years. I didn't know that they'd had an epiphany about 2 years ago ...
so I'll be watching closely and hoping for the best. I really do sincerely hope that they have weighed the desperate situation and have decided to be straight with their readers.
Honest to gosh, did I just say that? Has it come to this? Sometimes, it's too dark a world we've made for ourselves ...
Digression: at lunch, I was listening to two Very Respectable Ladies chatting about the lovely times they'd had on Gambling Tours. They had visited Niagara Falls on bargain deals too good to pass up. "And we could see the falls from our bedroom window!" The other said, "I made so much money I went out and bought a leather coat!"
I shoulda told them they'd just been "had" by Organized Crime which could easily afford the cheap tickets as bribes to get them into a gambling ... and that casinos were the Money-Launderers' dream ... and that they needed to have a hot shower and re-start their priorities ... but I didn't. I finished my lunch and left early. So who's at fault here, eh?
So thanks for your very kind words, C.C. Some days, they are very important.
.
An unrelated example of corruption on the other side of the pond.
And remember "law" has it's foundations here
http://theintelhub.com/2010/11/10/staged-government-terror-an-open-admission-within-the-british-house-of-lords/
And remember "law" has it's foundations here
http://theintelhub.com/2010/11/10/staged-government-terror-an-open-admission-within-the-british-house-of-lords/
# posted by : November 12, 2010 at 11:47 a.m.
: November 12, 2010 at 11:47 a.m.
Thanks for drawing our attention to these 2 pieces of journalism.
There is a change in tone with the formerly owned CanWest papers (including the Province & PG Citizen and Global . . . . since the sales competed with veteran journalist, Paul Godfrey as CEO of the former and Shaw with the latter completed a few days ago.
The Canwest political bias got them into the mess - I doubt the new ownership will want the media bottom line to remain in the ditch, do you?
Nothing like a integrity to change the red into black.
There is a change in tone with the formerly owned CanWest papers (including the Province & PG Citizen and Global . . . . since the sales competed with veteran journalist, Paul Godfrey as CEO of the former and Shaw with the latter completed a few days ago.
The Canwest political bias got them into the mess - I doubt the new ownership will want the media bottom line to remain in the ditch, do you?
Nothing like a integrity to change the red into black.
# posted by : November 12, 2010 at 11:48 a.m.
: November 12, 2010 at 11:48 a.m.
Easy, there, 11:47 ...
This British House of Lords performance has less to do with the law, and a lot to do with a feverish imagination, I think.
In fact, it reminds me of the British author, David Icke, who ran on about shape-shifting reptilians ... Queen Elizabeth is one, etc.
Your author is (it says) "out of Mullins, South Carolina", and earned his B.A. degree with a Pee Dee Electric scholarship. Clue #1.
The Brits are famous for their eccentricity, too, so I'm going to put this Lord Whats-his-name down as one of their best comedy acts so far.
Laughing in the face of tragedy isn't such a bad tactic at certain critical times.
.
This British House of Lords performance has less to do with the law, and a lot to do with a feverish imagination, I think.
In fact, it reminds me of the British author, David Icke, who ran on about shape-shifting reptilians ... Queen Elizabeth is one, etc.
Your author is (it says) "out of Mullins, South Carolina", and earned his B.A. degree with a Pee Dee Electric scholarship. Clue #1.
The Brits are famous for their eccentricity, too, so I'm going to put this Lord Whats-his-name down as one of their best comedy acts so far.
Laughing in the face of tragedy isn't such a bad tactic at certain critical times.
.
Well, the implicit message--the programming if you will--contained in that article from the "p"rovince rag can be boiled down to, "We went so slowly that we had to let these boyz go with a mere slap--it was the right thing to do on account of the terrible backlog of cases. A matter of mere institutional inertia. Something that just couldn't be helped under the circumstances (he-he).
Or, at least that's how my sheep's brain took it.
Or, at least that's how my sheep's brain took it.
# posted by : November 13, 2010 at 3:53 p.m.
: November 13, 2010 at 3:53 p.m.
Prince George Citizen's has alot of news of scandal,( Real estate Scandal to follow this comment)and I am surprized that this issue has actually gone to Trial.(notes from Citizen Newspaper Chronology, link below.Note Our infamous Gary Bass involved)
Sept.2007 - Ken Corrigan loses job after eight years at RCMP detachment after complaining about workplace conditions. Given involuntary retirement. His job, the top civilian position at the detachment, is given to Bailey and another civilian. Days later, Sheri McLean-Smith (Chambers’ confidential assistant) and Linda Thompson (Chambers’ executive assistant) take leaves of absence.
They tell the Citizen that they acted under the city’s whistleblower policy and they prompted the Heller report
-the Heller Report, commissioned by the City of Prince George and written by a Vancouver lawyer , which said there was a conflict of interest between RCMP Supt. Dahl Chambers, then the commanding officer of the Prince George detachment, and Ann Bailey, the city's top civilian employee at the detachment. A city council
member Skakun allegedly leaked the report to CBS and it was posted on their website for one day) has been charged with breaching the FOI Act. They have been in Court this month.
(Snips from the Citizen's "Heller Report Chronology"
March 2008
March - Heller report completed. City staff do not act upon it, city councilors not aware of its existence
Mar. 2008 March - Heller report completed. City staff do not act upon it, city councilors not aware of its existence
April 30 - Citizen reports on report by Kitty Heller
August - RCMP Investigations clear Chambers, order “operational guidance” a form of counseling.
September - Councillor Debora Munoz alleges Skakun told her he leaked the Heller report.
October 08- Chambers transferred to Vancouver. Citizen learns Bailey goes with him. He has served in P.G. nine years: five as OIC, four as Operations Officer
Mar 09 March - Insp. Ray Noble begins investigation into Heller report leak,
August - Skakun charged under the Freedom of Information Act
(First time anyone has ever been charged under this Act 1993)- snip
November 09 - Skakun pleads not guilty - Trial expected to last 10 days, Crown may call 18 witnesse
here
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/article/20101027/PRINCEGEORGE0101/310279993/-1/PRINCEGEORGE/heller-report-chronology
Post a Comment
Sept.2007 - Ken Corrigan loses job after eight years at RCMP detachment after complaining about workplace conditions. Given involuntary retirement. His job, the top civilian position at the detachment, is given to Bailey and another civilian. Days later, Sheri McLean-Smith (Chambers’ confidential assistant) and Linda Thompson (Chambers’ executive assistant) take leaves of absence.
They tell the Citizen that they acted under the city’s whistleblower policy and they prompted the Heller report
-the Heller Report, commissioned by the City of Prince George and written by a Vancouver lawyer , which said there was a conflict of interest between RCMP Supt. Dahl Chambers, then the commanding officer of the Prince George detachment, and Ann Bailey, the city's top civilian employee at the detachment. A city council
member Skakun allegedly leaked the report to CBS and it was posted on their website for one day) has been charged with breaching the FOI Act. They have been in Court this month.
(Snips from the Citizen's "Heller Report Chronology"
March 2008
March - Heller report completed. City staff do not act upon it, city councilors not aware of its existence
Mar. 2008 March - Heller report completed. City staff do not act upon it, city councilors not aware of its existence
April 30 - Citizen reports on report by Kitty Heller
August - RCMP Investigations clear Chambers, order “operational guidance” a form of counseling.
September - Councillor Debora Munoz alleges Skakun told her he leaked the Heller report.
October 08- Chambers transferred to Vancouver. Citizen learns Bailey goes with him. He has served in P.G. nine years: five as OIC, four as Operations Officer
Mar 09 March - Insp. Ray Noble begins investigation into Heller report leak,
August - Skakun charged under the Freedom of Information Act
(First time anyone has ever been charged under this Act 1993)- snip
November 09 - Skakun pleads not guilty - Trial expected to last 10 days, Crown may call 18 witnesse
here
http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/article/20101027/PRINCEGEORGE0101/310279993/-1/PRINCEGEORGE/heller-report-chronology
<< Home
