SHERLOCK HOLMES & MY FAIR LADY

AN OPEN LETTER TO CASH HEED

Dear Kash,

With due respect, what in the devil's name are you doing?

Until I am shown otherwise, I will continue to believe that you are a good cop and sometimes a great cop.

I don't know if you've noticed lately, Kash, but we are in dire need of good and great law enforcement people these days.

We don't need new politicians, Kash. We need good cops, effective cops, honest cops, dedicated cops. Like you.

If all this swirl is true, if in fact you are going to be running for election in May with Gordon Campbell's Liberals, all I can ask is, "Why?"

What could you possibly expect to accomplish, even if elected?

You'll get elected and Gordon will make you Attorney-G or Solicitor-G? Is that it?

I hate to be crude, but...is money involved? Rewards of some kind, other than the vanity of public office? I would hate to think so, and until shown otherwise, I don't think so. But, as you can see, I am not very bright and I am struggling to understand why a man who can so effectively serve the public in an honorable way would turn to the Most Rotten Show in Town.

Has someone convinced you that you have a shot at being Canada's first Indo-Canadian Prime Minister? Barack did it, so you can too, the time is ripe...is that what people are whispering in your ear?

Maybe so. Maybe they are right.

And that would be exciting and yes, worthwhile.

But the distance from Vancouver-Fraserview to Ottawa is many many millions of light years, fraught with monumental perils along the way. One wrong move and you're toast, Kash.

All I can see at this point is that, at a time of public fear and distrust in our constabulary and increasing crime and decreasing criminal justice, we are losing an excellent policeman and possibly gaining another bullshitting politician. Just what we don't need.

Say it isn't true.

Housing Priorities

Here is the John Doyle,British Columbia's Auditor-General:

"Government has not been successful in reducing homelessness. We found that the government does not have a comprehensive plan for addressing homelessness. Government's goals and objectives are ill-defined and it has no overall measure or target for homelessness."

But Rich Cold Man differs.

Gosh.

Whom are we to believe?

Finally, I see some good coming from the Big Stupid Ski Party.

Victoria, embarrassed as it should be by its complete disregard for people with whom it is not in business, is now looking at building real and new social housing. It is asking the federal government to contribute hundreds of millions to that goal.

If any of this comes to pass, the Great Vancouver Luge-In will have been worth it.

I'm Salutin' You

Rick Salutin argues in the Globe this morning that ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK playing at a Canadian University near you right now is not anti-Semitic.

"Israel is now a state among nations and must be held to account, not absolved for fear of igniting a new Holocaust. Israel Apartheid Week should be gauged on its critique of its subject, not anathematized due to shadows and terrors from another time," he concludes.

Of course, this is an old writer's ploy.

I am the bravest and most fair person on earth because I can write truthfully and openly about legitimate criticism and everyone knows I am a good guy and would never harm a fly.

Right.

So, students breaking down the glass doors of Hillel House of York University recently, while screaming, "You filthy fucking Jews!" How does Mr. Salutin explain that?

He doesn't, because he cannot.

Israel is a sovereign nation and it is open to criticism as much as Canada or Vietnam.

But so much of this annual campus hate fest called ISRAELI APARTHEID WEEK is Jew-hating and it should be clearly seen for what it is.

To apologize for this in a national newspaper is too clever by half.

Mr. Mayor

I didn't vote for him and I endorsed the other guy.

But to date, Gregor Robertson has been an exemplary Mayor for Vancouver.

He may yet make some false moves, three years in the public spotlight is a long time for the best of us.

But to date, he has shown leadership and what appears to be a keen interest in making this city a slightly better place for all of us.

Kudos and best wishes.

ARGUMENTS

A friend writes:

Honestly, David, you are becoming too cynical. At first I thought it was sadistic humour but every day seems a little more jaded. And what makes you think that you can call people liars and jackboots - totally unsubstantiated allegations?

I think you should take a holiday, as I am tomorrow. I'm off to Chicago and Atlanta for two weeks to see my grandchildren and I hope when I return you are less confrontational and more constructive.

Take care. Barbara.

I reply:

I'm sorry you feel that way, Barbara.

I am not cynical at all, never have been.

I am critical of bad public behaviour and I am glad of that.

An RCMP officer who completely misrepresents the truth that is clearly revealed on videotape is a liar. What is so mysterious about that? To make matters worse he is the first person on whom we should depend for the truth.

And for his massive over-reaction that resulted in this poor man's unnecessary death, he is rightly called a jackboot and a thug.

If you are more angry at me for my comments than you are at the Policeman, then it is you who needs to rethink things.

Don't worry about my bleating. Worry about a once proud police force that has lost its way.

Enjoy your grandkids and trust that the police, who are supposed to serve and protect them, do it more honestly than our Richmond RCMP.

Cheers,

David

Another writer accuses me of being an unworthy reporter because I say that Constable Millington has lied under oath.

This morning I read that Don Rosenbloom, the very capable lawyer representing Poland, accused Millington yesterday of lying under oath.

The honorable officer couldn't explain why he and his colleagues all had the same pat story, which was completely contradicted by the evidence of a videotape.

It is a great curiosity to me why people are more concerned with my credentials or my mental health than they are with the state of police work in this neck of the woods.

If the police are lying and swarming dangerous people armed with staplers, what gulag are we living in?

I continue to live under the delusion that Canada is a democracy guided by certain principles. If I ask uncomfortable questions about the behaviour of public officials, who by the way, have been hired and trained apparently to serve and protect us, than I am fulfilling my vision of what a citizen aught to do.

If you want everything to be nice, take another medication and go back to reading Vogue and Western Living.

U2 - Breathe, on Letterman the other night

I've Got You UNder My Skin

CRIME SOLUTION ... from BOB

How do we get some immediate reforms to the criminal justice system that will quickly bring an end to the current gang warfare that has killed way too many people?

We start fundraising here in Vancouver. We need to raise enough money to buy a couple of hundred one-way WestJet tickets Vancouver to Ottawa. We make sure there is enough money left over to rent four or five Rockcliff Park mansions for six months and a couple of dozen downtown Ottawa hotel rooms. Oh, yeah, we throw in the keys for a half dozen or so rented armoured vehicles waiting at Ottawa airport for the arrival of the Westjet flights.

One more thing-- let's get an Ottawa gun dealer to stay open late a few nights next week. Then we set up an office in Surrey and publish an ad in the paper. All Red Scorpion, UN, Independent Soldiers and Hells Angels gang members are welcome to sign up for a free trip. No strings attached. Actually let's throw in a few thousand dollars spending money for each of them and a map showing where Parliament Hill is located-- a nice open space to shoot it up at night. No real neighbours to bother with the sounds of automatic gunfire.

The cost -- about $1,380,000 -- way less then the cost of running the BC Integrated Gang Task Force.

We would see Criminal Code changes probably within 45 days.

PSYCHIATRY ON THE STAND

Psychiatry continues to lend a great disservice to jurisprudence in Canada.

Vince Li beheaded and then mutilated and cannibalized a man on a Greyhound Bus.

But psychiatrist Stanley Yaren has testified that Li is Not Criminally Responsible and should therefore be confined to a mental institution - not prison - "possibly for his entire life."

Possibly???

This raises the very possible spectre - given the track record of Corrections Canada and the National Parole Disservice - that Li will one day be walking amongst us.

Will someone please make an effort to get shrinks out of the court room?

MILLINGTON THE MACHINE

Last night I actually saw some of the Dziekanski inquiry on the TV news.

What was truly terrifying was the calm, placid robot performance of RCMP Constable Kwesi Millington as he lied over and over again while under oath.

Every little detail he provided of this sorry incident was contradicted by the video of same.

He says he had to taser Dziekansky three times to bring him down and then have all four officer/thugs wrestle the poor guy to the ground.

The video shows that the man fell down screaming in agaony after one taser blast.

Five lawyers are billing taxpayers at large rates to defend these quick-draw Stasi jackboots.

And prosecutors announced long ago that there will be no charges laid against them.

O.K.

So will the RCMP keep Millington and his fellow Tin Men around in uniform?

How safe will you feel if these Nervous Nellies stop you one night on a routine drive?

This is a dark time for Law and Order in this country.

HOW HIP

It's to be known officially as the Homelessness Intervention Project - HIP.

And Provincial Housing Minister Rich Coleman, that noted humanitarian, will be the head cheese.

Coleman doesn't agree with the auditor-general's tough assessment of his government's accomplishments to date.

"I think there has been significant leadership on this file," says Coleman the Kind.

Hahahaha...

News for you, Bud.

It's not a file.

It's many human beings who are cold and hungry, you putz.

Now, let's follow the money and get to the bottom line of this spurious announcement.

In the recently tabled provincial budget, Mr. Coleman's allotment for housing was cut by $70 Million.

End of story, Kids.

The gall, the transparency, the dark, dark comedy of these fools.

CANADIAN BROADCASTING IS AN OXY, YOU MORON

CTV will fire 118 people from their newsrooms. They will cut several morning shows from their "A" channels.

And Glow-Ball wants the CRTC to ease back on Canadian content regs.

What passes for "Canadian broadcasting" is a cruel comedy.

Canadian broadcasting executives have made many millions of dollars for many years by buying and airing L.A. content that we could happily watch or ignore on American channels any time.

Instead, with the Simulcast license to print money, we the viewer continue to endure always missing the first tee shot or the first down of the game or the first clue on the quiz show because CTV or Global or the CBC can't get back to the program on time.

Imagine, just imagine, if Canadian broadcasters were told you can show no programs other than those you produce here in Canada.

Hahahahahaha...

We may or more likely may not ever have a broadcast industry again, but at least we could watch ABC or CBS just as they are broadcast.

WILD WEST SHOW, PART 947

Three shootings, two dead, two injured, East Van, Burnaby, Surrey.

That story just in at the Sun this morning.

But don't worry.

The police are arresting many gang people for many things and the leaders in Victoria are busy helping out the situation.

YVR MURDER - and the consequences?

"He had the stapler open ... he was in a combative stance'

Mountie who wielded taser tells inquiry he felt threatened when victim grabbed stapler

The courtroom audience snorted, giggled and shrieked.

As they should.

The RCMP officer who made this comment was not only ridiculous, he was lying.

As Gary Mason reports in a separate column today, the video shows clearly and repeatedly that Mr. Dziekanski did not raise the stapler above his head or anywhere near it and he did not move towards the officers.

And even if he had?

We all know how dangerous and scary a good Bostich stapler can be in the wrong hands!

So the officer zapped Dziekanski once and then, while Dziekanski was writhing in pain (clearly and repeatedly seen on the video), the officer zapped him again 3 times in a matter of seconds.

By the way, the officer had never before in his life used the taser.

Now, what will happen after this inquiry?

These policemen killed an innocent man.

Will they be charged? Will they lose their jobs? Will they suffer anything besides a momentary public embarrassment?

CASH - Commentary from a Friend

Insight on Investing
by Adrian Mastracci,
Fee-Only Portfolio Manager

“A trillion here, another trillion there"

For Immediate Release

Vancouver, BC (March 03, 2009):

The headlines suggest that trillion dollar deficits could be part of the US landscape for years.
The US is developing an insatiable addiction to debt.

Investors and taxpayers are swamped with mind numbing numbers.
A trillion here, another trillion there.

That is a lot of precious cash they don't have to just toss it around very casually.
Investors and taxpayers are not ready for the toxic taste of how to to pay for this.

Imagine someone fessing up to a consultant that his situation is in the deep glue because he borrowed far too much.
Now imagine that consultant telling him that the way out of the sticky glue is to borrow a bunch more he can't afford.

Say that someone is the US Government, now heavily preoccupied with ballooning bailouts and stimulus spending.
Maxing out the government credit cards has many repercussions and consequences down the road.

I thought that one smart way out was to tighten the belt and reduce needless spending.
However, simple logic gets murky awfully fast in the spin of government economics.

And they also hope that cash strapped consumers continue spending even more money they too don't have.
That is a lot of harsh medicine to swallow all at once.

So, let's call the spade what it really is.
The US is mortgaging its precious future, yet again.

I think the US would be better off to stop bailing out everyone.
Let the weak fade away and the strong survive.

The convoluted mess would right itself sooner.
I favour investing in winners, not mediocre picks.

Digging the bigger hole can't continue unchecked.
Unfortunately, government economics follows different scripts.

Adrian Mastracci, Portfolio Manager
KCM Wealth Management Inc.
"Fee-Only" Portfolio Managers & Financial Advisors
Suite 1500, Box 1078, 885 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6C 3E8
Tel: (604) 739-4500 Fax: (604) 739-0234
Website: www.kcmwealth.com

---

Our speciality is designing and managing long-term investment portfolios. Our advice is objective, unbiased and without conflicts of interest.

Say, Buddy...Can you spare a dime?

You know Money Mart, and similar places?

They are called "the pay-loan industry." They even have associations and no doubt have national conferences.

They are what we used to call loan sharks.

BC's Solicitor-General has capped their loan rates to only 600% per annum.

This is Van Donkey's idea of being a Good Cop.

This is what we used to call USURY.

Here is an industry that takes miserable advantage of the poor (and sometimes ignorant) and it is given license by the government to keep up the good work.

Fixing Whom?

Yesterday, the Globe & Mail continued their series on the DTES called "The Fix."

In what we must suppose is part of their "expert" revelations, the focus was on Jim Green.

The article by Robert Matas gives us a fine mini-biography at the top.

And what do we learn about the Man Who Would Be Mayor - but Wasn't?

We learn that since coming here from New York City, Green has been taking government funds, handouts and employment cheques. As a friend of mine in the development business says, "He's never had a real job." And the fact that Green now lists himself as land development consultant is uproariously funny to my development friend.

What is most amazing about Green's pronouncements about the DTES is that he says that much of the government money spent "has done a fabulous job." "Look at Insite...it is so absolutely successful." Green began Insite.

Later in the piece, Green says that people in the DTES have to get out of chemical dependency.

How, may I ask, will they do that when they are given free needles to shoot up with and a clean well-lit place to shoot up in? How about having a registered nurse doing the injection?

By the time you finish reading this piece, what you are left to understand is that amidst poverty and misery, Mr. Green stands alone in his ability to wear a stylish coat and an adorable fedora.

The poverty and the misery have done Green well.

FOLLOW-UP: Today, the Mayor, talking about his work on homelessness, says, "We're getting a lot of people with addictions and its demonstrating real progress in supporting addicts."

Huh?

Giving people a room is admirable. But giving addicts a room and thinking you are "making real progress" speaks to living in a delusion. What, if anything, does Robertson know about addictions?

STATEMENT?

Yes, that's Barack in Ottawa. And that's Old Whatshisface.

Pickle

The Blogger rests...Sunday and Monday.

See you back here on Tuesday morning.