Write Your Own Photo Caption

POSTER BOY/POSTER JUDGE FOR INJUSTICE

Everyone in Canada from your neighbourhood green grocer to your chief of police decries the failure of our courts to provide public protection from lunatics and bad guys.

This, of course, stems from the central (Canada) belief that there are no bad guys - only the severely misunderstood. Even the worst amongst us, the fuzzy-headed thinking goes, can rise from their slightly naughty behaviour to become...well, why not Senators?

Here today is the classic textbook case for how our criminal injustice system is entirely out of synch with the real world.

Omar Bulphred has done a few things lately.

Here's what he's done.

He firebombed a Jewish Community Centre in Montreal. He's not very good at what he does. No one -baruch hashem (God be praised) - was hurt.

He had plans to firebomb the Montreal Stock Exchange.

He had plans to randomly kidnap and perhaps cut the throat of a gay man - any gay man - "like a chicken."

He had plans to bomb a nuclear plant and a military base.

He threw one of his fizzling useless bombs at a Jewish Boys School.

O.K.

Got the picture?

Now, here's his punishment, consequences, reward.

Quebec Court Judge Louise Boudreau - a genius among geniuses - gave Omar a sentence of seven years.

PLUS...credit for time served, leaving The Mad Incompetent Bomber a remaining sentence of 40 months.

For the chronically slow, that's a little over 3 years and a couple of spring blossoms.

Soon, Omar, the Universal Hater, will be back on St. Catherine's Street looking for more copies of "Bombing for Dummies."

Is it dreadfully unfair to ask why this #$%^&*@ hasn't been confined to a tiny metal box for life?

REDEFINED

Public life often effects language in interesting ways.

Here's a quote from a young Vancouverite about recent gunfire in his neighbourhood. To be more precise, a shooting yesterday that led to the discovery of a 23-year old man dead from gunshot wounds in a nearby basement suite last night.

The quote:

"The area is pretty safe, although it's not unusual to hear gunshots maybe once every couple of months."

- What the heck was that, Barney? - Nothing to worry your pretty little head about, Helen. It's April 16th. Just your regular right as rain gunfire, Sweetie. Now, give me some more of those precious apple dumplings of yours.

OVER THE RAINBOW

City Manager, Penny Ballem, has hired Bruce Tidball to oversee the completion of the Olympic Village project.

This is a good move, and the Ballem and City Council are to be congratulated for the simple practical wisdom in this hire.

It occurred to me yesterday afternoon as I was wheeling around the area and seeing the site that in time this will be a finished development and we will all enjoy walking and cycling by it along False Creek.

The only question that will linger is the final cost to Vancouver citizens.

TORCH

There is much in life that I don't understand.

Arson is right at the top of the list.

I think firebugs are completely crazy insane dogs who should be tied up with ropes and masking tape and left on chairs for life.

All of Australia is reeling from the horrifying fires in Victoria around Melbourne. To date, the death toll is 181 and counting.

In the midst of this tragedy we learn that someone or some several have deliberately set fires.

Honestly this kind of behaviour leaves me slack-jawed.

Read the details and see the videos from news.com.au here.

Vancouver Story?

An old Italian lived alone in New Jersey .. He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden, but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.

His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:
---
Dear Vincent,

I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in the old days.

Love, Papa
A few days later he received a letter from his son.
---
Dear Pop,

Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried.

Love, Vinnie
---

At 4 a. m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left.

That same day the old man received another letter from his son.
--
Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you, Vinnie

Small and welcome Truths

Vancouver Police Chief, Jim Chu, refuses to join the rose-colored sunglasses set.

He freely admits that the DTES will remain essentially a drug-addled hell-hole during and after the famous Games.

Read this story and at the least be thankful that there is one official who is not selling more fairy dust.

CHOKE HOLD

There are full page ads in your newspapers today.

Here's what they say in very large bold type:

As of tomorrow Gordon Campbell wants you to just shut up.

The ads, featuring a number of people with masking tape over their mouths, are paid for by the BC Federation of Labour and a number of unions.

The ads encourage you to visit the justshutupBC.com website to register your unhappiness with Bill 42.

The bill limits who can spend how much on advertising leading up to the May 12th provincial election.

Bill 42 is a gag law and it stinks to high heaven and these ads and protests are right.

This is a cynical attack on basic democratic principles by a cynical and unprincipled administration.

It is a direct assault on free speech.

The Harper government is considering wide police access to the internet for the purposes of thwarting criminal and terrorist activities. That consideration is worthy of many lengthy philosophical discussions.

But this appalling piece of legislation by the Campbell government is so blatantly wrong and pig-headed and self-serving that any discussion would be beyond the point.

Why can this government or any government in this country not withstand healthy and open debate of issues and ideas in the lead up to an election?

There is no reasonable way to rationalize this Orwellian nonsense.

And here's the kicker:

"Attorney-General Wally Oppal has defended the gag law, saying the idea is to keep the election focus on the candidates and political parties, instead of having third-party interests try to influence the outcome of the vote."

A Man Without Shame.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"There's no way to manage what's happening."

Sergeant Shinder Kirk of the Integrated Gang Task Force speaking yesterday about, well, you know, shootups at Timmy's and the IGA.

Bet the good Sergeant is not having a jo with Gord these days.

JULIE LONDON with an assist from RUDOLPH VALENTINO

GUNFIGHT AT THE NOT OK CORRAL

The dictatorship, the one-man show known as the Provincial Government rode high to the rescue yesterday.

Gordon Campbell, a.k.a. the Lone Stranger, announced new initiatives on two important fronts.

In the first case, no money is attached to the plan, which means it doesn't actually exist.

In the second, the money and the plan are too meagre to be taken seriously.

Both are pre-election burps.

Second case first: $600 Million for two new hospitals up-Island at Campbell River and Comox.

$600 Million? What are they, Quonset huts?

If this is such a good idea why are all the doctors and citizens in the area disgusted with it?

Why now?

But we know the answer to that one.

First Big Idea:

Elliott Mess, the Premier of the Province, is going postal, pulling out all the firearms and vowing to rid our streets and IGA parking lots of criminal gubfire. (Woody Allen's great early comedy, "Take the Money and Run," gave us that classic line, "Does this note say, "I have a gub?"")

Right.

And all of this will happen without any new dollars being spent.

And all of this will happen without what all of us know must happen sooner than later - the creation of a Metro Police Force that covers the Lower Mainland.

All of this will happen by moving two beat cops from traffic to gangs?

And all of this announcement is without the presence of our two official law enforcement boobs, W. Opaque and John van Donkey.

Gordo the Great to the rescue.

Of course, we are all immensely relieved and grateful.

Following this post is a duplicate of Bill Tieleman's call for the resignation of Wally, the Fish, taken, with his blessing, from Bill's blog.

There's no question that DodgeBall City needs a new sheriff in town, one with bullets in his guns.

But is it any of the Current Pretenders?

(By the way...servers at Tim Horton's are no longer asking if you want double cream and sugar. Now it's simply, "Will that be shooting or non-shooting?")

JOIN THE OUST WALLY MOVEMENT

Where's Wally? Attorney-General Wally Oppal

given 30 days to take action on gang violence in Metro Vancouver or face call to resign

Bill Tieleman’s 24 Hours Column

Tuesday February 10, 2009

Stop the gangs

By BILL TIELEMAN


People need to know our streets are safe.

- B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal, Feb. 4, 2009

Gangsters killed Kevin LeClair with submachine gun fire and riddled cars with stray shots in a Langley IGA store parking lot Friday in broad daylight.

Raphael Baldini, linked to B.C.'s worst gang massacre, was shot dead in Surrey's crowded Guildford Mall parking lot last Tuesday at 5 p.m.

Breanna Kinnear was shot to death in a car in Coquitlam the same day.

Last Monday, James Erickson was gunned down in a Whalley apartment.

And on Jan. 27, Andrew Cilliers was shot to death in his driveway in Surrey.

Yesterday, a 28-year-old was shot several times in an IGA parking lot at Broadway and Arbutus.

There is a murderous gang war raging in Metro Vancouver, the public is at grave risk and where's Wally?

Does the B.C. government's Attorney-General actually think our streets are safe?

People are being shot to death in public places by criminals acting with complete impunity.

Citizens are at risk - why isn't more being done by Oppal and the B.C. government?

What will it take - because already too many innocent victims have died.

That's why Steve Brown has given Oppal an ultimatum: Do something to end the violence within 30 days or he will campaign for the Attorney-General's firing.

Brown has been deeply scarred by violence.

His brother-in-law Ed Schellenberg was servicing a fireplace in a Surrey apartment when gangsters arrived and shot him execution-style, along with four occupants who were involved in the drug trade and another innocent victim - young Chris Mohan, a neighbour who accidentally happened on the scene.

Ironically, Baldini rented the apartment Schellenberg died in. Now he's dead too and the killers remain free.

"I've lost my patience with Wally Oppal," Brown told me Saturday when he publicly gave Oppal 30 days to find a solution or else.

"If Wally Oppal can't find a way to stop the gang slayings and the murder of innocent victims who are in their way, then he should resign as Attorney-General or be fired by Premier Gordon Campbell," Brown said.

Brown is furious that gangsters facing serious charges are let out on bail and commit more violent crimes.

"We're demanding answers - why are all these criminals running loose?" he said.

I agree. It's time for British Columbians to tell Oppal that the lack of action to make our streets safe again for citizens is totally unacceptable.

You can send that message to the B.C. Liberal government by joining my new Facebook protest group:

Where's Wally? BC Attorney-General Oppal has 30 days to end gang violence.

Just go to www.facebook.com and type in Wally Oppal in the Search box to get there - or click on the Where's Wally? link above.

If you aren't on Facebook, you can easily join.

But please - send a message today: Help stop the killing now.

.

ALFRED E. NEWMAN, A-G

In another stroke of genius and high civic responsibility, W. Opaque, continuing his masquerade as the Attorney-General, has put the blame for gang violence sharply on the shoulders of thee and me.

Apparently, according to Mr. Daily Quote, we are not reporting enough crime and we are not telling everything we really know.

And, besides, what me worry?

According to Mr. I've Got an Answer for Everything, the statistics compiled by some academics in eastern Canada reveal that we actually live in a crime-free Eden.

Each new day, W.O. brings new sunshine to cut through the gloom and flurries.

Excuse me, while I don my flak jacket to head over to the IGA for some lettuce.

Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll also find some RHUBARB!

HOW MUCH OF A MUCHNE$$ IS TOO MUCH?

Whether you are an NDP supporter or not, the online petition called "End the Secrecy on Olympic Spending" is worth a look.

You can not only add your name to a long list, but add your thoughts.

Today's headlines include more revelations about the true costs of security for the Games.

And here's a suggestion for all the powers that be.

You know all those military and para-military folk who are going to be circling about in their hornets and hawks and other WMD?

Maybe they could arrive early and stick around afterwards to do something about the Little Chicago in the Twenties that we've got going here.

A helicopter visit or two might just keep our IGA's safe for grocery shoppers.

AD CAMPAIGN

Federal regulators in America allow the advertising of prescription drugs on television.

This is a bad idea for public policy.

It is a good idea for people who hold shares in Big Pharma and for Comedy.

Take "Abilify," please.

Which, let's admit up front, sounds remarkable like "vilify."

Here's the essential Abilify message:

"Hey Stupid, Desperate Person! If your anti-depressant isn't enough...take a second anti-depressant as well!"

Not much different from saying, "If banging your head into a cement wall doesn't hurt enough, try banging your head into a cement wall and then dropping a piano on your head."

Then, bringing up the rear...

"Levitra" is a poison from the viagra, cialis family.

Here's the message that you get for this elixir on TV:

"Levitra is great...unless you get an erection that won't go away after 4 hours, and by the way, you could turn blind and deaf using this crap. But, hey, you'll be a man again, Arthur!"

HOW DARE YOU SPEND MORE THAN ME!

Renters at Risk.

Boy, they really sound like enemies of the Public Good, don't they?

Well, according to Gordon Campbell's Bill 42, which limits spending on political advertising in the days leading up to an election, that''s what this terrifying West End group is.

If they register on time and if they spend more than they are allowed to promoting their frightening cause, they will be fined 10 times the amount over the limit that they spend.

Mr. Campbell with his Taxation Without Representation decisions like the All New All Expensive Port Mann Bridge and the Dig a Tunnel, Destroy Local Business Cambie Line and now this little piece of skulduggery has shown us that his knowledge and understanding of the basic tenets of democracy are somewhat limited.

Perhaps, yes, here's an idea.

When square heads are elected, perhaps they might be required to attend Democracy School, where they are required to study and pass exams (which the BCTF can protest), just to make sure they have some of the simple concepts under their rapidly increasing belts.

Then, just before the sitting of the House, rare as that may be, they could take a little refresher course.

Yes.

PURE DOPE

Want to hear the sound of tax dollars being sucked out of the economy for no good purpose?

Sure you do.

Try this.

The CAMH, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation is looking for a couple of high level employees. The Foundation is the fund-raising arm of the similarly named "teaching and research hospital," the largest in Canada, located of course in Toronto. It is the result of the marriage of the former Clarke Institute and the Addiction Research Foundation.

Here's how the career ad in today's papers describes the institution.

"pioneering redevelopment vision to transform the face of addiction and mental health treatment..."

Hahahahahahahahahaha...

Oh, Lord, save us from these people.

Not one addict, renewed, cleaned up, sober, walking tall have we ever witnessed because of the work of this august body.

They are largely pseudo-social scientists who publish arcane papers and long enlightening lists of statistical light bulbs, like how many people in Newfoundland took up cigarette smoking again since the new administration arrived.

This monument to political obfuscation (We have to study the problem before we can set policy.) costs many millions of dollars a year.

If all of that money or even a small portion of it were dedicated to treatment, our addiction problems would be considerably relieved.

But you see that would require that we admit two Inconvenient Truths:

1) We have as a goal for addicts, alcoholics and others a clean and sober life with self-respect at the core.

2) We recognize that the best recovery programs are those like AA, which cost very little money and large investments of time and effort by people who care and people who KNOW THE TERRITORY.

Of course, those Truths are Inconvenient precisely because there are few ribbon cuttings for politicians and few desk jobs for academic cyphers.

Figge This

While the world economy continues to slide precipitously down The Great Rabbit Hole (possibly of all time) and Vancouver replenishes its reputation as Crime City and the Bishop announces he'll take some time to re-examine the evidence of the Holocaust...while all that and so much more is bringing joy to our hearts on a regular basis...

think on this:

Jennifer Figge, a 56 year old American woman is blithely swimming the Atlantic.

There's the picture, here's the story.

Read it, marvel, say "Jennifer rocks!" and have a kick-back Sunday...

MEAN STREETS

Yesterday's blog entry, "Six," about how effective all our agencies are in fighting crime, received some excellent comments and I encourage you to read them.

Then, check out Vancouver Sun writer Kim Bolan's blog on this topic.

Today the Province is one big crime sheet. Take downs by hordes of swarming cops, more on the Langley mall shoot-out, 2 young people killed by a hit-and-run idiot near Granville Island.

What used to be another cheesy Hollywood movie being filmed on our streets is now the real deal. Lucky us.

What did the day Sergeant used to say every morning on "Hill Street Blues?" Something like, "Careful out there..."

Clown School

The City of Vancouver has cancelled the so-called "Ambassadors" plan for private security guards downtown.

They were right to do so.

Fund the police to patrol on foot.

If the Board of Trade or the Downtown Business Association wants to pay for these Keystone Cops, they are free waste to their own money.