We can only wait and see

Another blog by sicntired With the recent election of the Obama/Biden team in the US and the various victories and defeats of the various drug reform measures,it's a toss up as to where the dog is going.That the tail is dragging us down a disastrous path is beyond a doubt.We saw what born again agenda's can do with 8 years of GWBush.Biden was an unfortunate choice as VP as his record as the flag carrier of the anti drug forces is well documented.We all have heard about Obama's former drug use and that makes him a living example of just how harmless a drug experiment can be.If a reasonably intelligent person looks at the whole drug situation it's fairly obvious that the majority of the damage and all of the criminal activity is as the direct result of the prohibition of drugs.If government was dumb enough to once again try to introduce the prohibition of alcohol,the death and organzed distribution would begin before the ink was dry on the paper the bill was written on.It's amazing that people just can't seem to make the connection.It's sad but I did say it takes a person of reasonable intelligence.Governments have all the demographics on just who and where the more intelligent people live and they aim their material at the rest.What will Obama do about the drug war and prison over crowding and jail time for minor drug offences?We'll just have to wait and see.Biden is attempting to reverse the 100-1 sentencing disparity on crack cocaine but who was the monster that thought such a travesty up in the first place?It's so obviously racist that it's become a world wide embarrasment.Too bad people won't take the time to look up the origines of current drug laws and the racism jumps out and slaps you right in the face.You can find all such information at drugsense .org or at stopthedrugwar.org.Both sites contain a wealth of information and links to other sites.If you agree,it'll show you you're on the right side of the issue.If you're against drug reform,it'll open your eyes to the racist and fear mongering that keeps the drug war wheels spinning in place year after year.

Busted-another drug war ad

Another blog by sicntired I was watching the news and all of a sudden there was a bust unfolding before my eyes.I soon realized it was another television program designed to promote the drug war and show the dangers of doing drugs.It turned out to be a pretty good way of exposing just how putrid the drug war really is.The people they showed being busted were young and fairly clueless.They were obviously doing the program as part of their punishment for being caught with pot.They all kept saying how scared they were,in fact that was pretty much the only truth the program displayed.The busts were all typical police harassment resulting in petty pot busts of less than a gram.They even had a pop up display saying that even traces were enough for an arrest.One of the guys was a third time arrest and had to make a statement as to how he was glad he was popped as it forced him to change his life direction.He seemed like a decent person and aside from the fact that he was facing up to 20 years in prison for a felony drug arrest(he only had a small amount but it was #3{?}).He was as sincere as he could muster and there was no doubt that he was scared but you could tell he was more pissed off than sorry.Who could blame him?One minute he was minding his own business and the next the cops kicked in his door and now he was looking at 20 years for pot.The other cases were far more petty than that and the people were still just as scared.The show proved one thing;that people should be very cautious when driving while young or black in the USA.The cops were all predators looking for young people partying as they knew they'd have marijuana.The arresting officer in case #2 even said that he was looking for young partiers and that he was sure he'd find marijuana.The people in the car were black.They were well groomed young people and looked as clean as anyone I've ever seen.Just that fact alone should tell people something.Is everyone out there a criminal or are the police looking for trouble where there is none.I know they always say they're just doing their jobs.It was very clear that they saw putting a kink in a young persons life as part of that job.None of the people shown on this show were criminals in the true sense of the word.They were victims of a society that lives by do as I say and not as I do.The cops on this show all seemed like the true believers.These are people who actually believe that all drugs are bad and they are saving the world.They would arrest their own mothers.I can't see how any one can watch this kind of program with anything but outrage.Like it's twin ,"cops",this show demonstrated how the drug war is a war on the poor,the young and the colored.Most people on cops are at least doing real crime.This show is all about young people and how a drug arrest can ruin your life.No question about that but what would have happened if the cop had really just done his job instead of going miles out of his way to find a problem?None of the people arrested looked like they were a menace to society.Quite the opposite.These were young people out to enjoy their youth and trying to have some harmless fun.At least they weren't out drinking and driving.People who say that people that smoke pot shouldn't drive a car.They obviously have never smoked and driven a car.The worst thing you'll do is drive way too slow.Pot does not a dangerous driver make.Impeding traffic,yes.Dangerous,no.I do not recomend driving high.It can be far scarier than it's worth.Just wait an hour and you're good to go anyway.If you're looking for a little insight into what's wrong with the war on drugs,watch a show called; Busted.

Wall Street Bailout is Main Street sellout

Try to limit huge pay packages for CEO's was the way it started and it just got worse from there.We will try to get Americans some of their investment back.The idea is to buy up toxic debt and sell it off when the economy gets going.This is outrageous and not in anybodies interest but the felons that laughed and joked their way into this crisis in the first place.Tapes have been heard in which these same Wall street bandits can be heard joking that they hope they're retired and long gone before this house of cards comes tumbling down.Paulson,when confronted with such avarice was visibly embarrassed but not embarrassed enough to retract his support for this theft of the American taxpayer.People,this is a travesty but it's not totally out of your hands.There can still be a reckoning here and it will come on income tax deadline day.The charlatans at the FED will have to release the plan and exactly how much each American taxpayer will have to kick in.Simply deduct it from your tax return and explain that you will have no part of bailing out the criminals of wall street.They can attack a few hold outs but recent polls have demonstrated their hatred and anger over this unjust and corrupt peice of legislation to the tune of 45% of those polled.You have the numbers and you know that the collusion between wall street and the beltway is conspiring to defraud you of a considerable chunk of cash.Are you going to let these carpetbaggers steal your hard earned money for the next few decades?They are addmitting right from the start that most of this money is toxic debt.That means it's beyond useless.The only message sent to wall street is that there is not one peice of this bill that increases regulation or restrictions on their conduct and it's business as usual with all bad behavior forgiven.Take this and you are fools,without the intestinal fortitude to stand up to a corrupt and out of control government that pays nothing but lip service to the people and that they can lie to you and you'll just take it.Are they right?

Israel has too much blood lust

Another blog by sicntired Today an Arab contractor lost it and razed a street before he was gunned down by an 18 year old kid who grabbed a cops gun and fired point blank into the driver.The man had taken his earthmover and was crushing cars and pushing buses over.A soldier then fired an automatic weapon into the dead body.That's not the reason for the header.Every one has the right to defend themselves.The leader,Ehud Olmert,demanded that the mans home be demolished and his family ,who knows.Israel has forgotten how they got to be a country in the first place.Now they condem arabs for fighting for their homeland the same way the jews did in 1947.The 10 to 1 kill ratio and the treatment of the Arab people is outrageous.Only the US with blinders on at all times and the Harper neocons support this outlaw regime.The so called war on terror is nothing but an apologist view of the middle east come home to haunt the perpetrators.There will be no peace until there is a settlement in the middle east.As long as our governments support the israelis no matter how brutal their approach,there will be the danger of a people with nothing to lose.acting like they have nothing to lose.

How can things change if we won't learn?

Another blog by sicntired Sometimes things become so frustrating you just want to shout.Fine for you or me but if you are the chief of the police force in the largest city in the west it behooves you to use common sense.Unfortunately,Jim Chiu likes to shoot from the lip.He's been on this "chronic offender" bandwagon again and it drives me crazy.If the chief was a student of Canadian law,or even of the local police force he would know that we have been down this road already.Of course that would require a little due diligence and that's in very short supply today.We have just seen the first case of trial by press.Tony Nguyen punched Michael Levy in the head and was sentenced to 20 months in prison.As he was entering the elevator,pursued by a camera crew,he laughed at the fact the press was all over him.The press decided he was laughing at the sentence and ran with the story till it was unrecognisable.The whole lunatic fringe went along for the ride and Wally Oppal decided it would be a good move to appeal the sentence.Score one for hysteria.The court,battered unmercifully for years now over being soft on crime finally buckled and sent him to jail.The comments made by Levy's mother said it all."Those people,they come here and they take everything."She had a whole lot more racist banter and the cameras ate it up.Score two for hysteria and racism.This is a dangerous precedent.We now have the lunatic fringe running the court system.I guess Chiu is just being an opportunist.He doesn't like the fact that addicts are being treated like human beings and he has to clean up the mess.I feel for the poor guy.It must be annoying having to chase criminals all day long.Seriously,these are addicts. knows it but he doesn't feel it's prudent to say it.Better to use the anonymous"chronic offender"like he's not kicking someone when their already down.Addicts are a problem.Have been for a long time now .If the chief looked up the habitual criminal act he would see that this whole concept was tried in the last century and was turfed as being cruel and unusual punishment.It is true that something has to be done about drug addiction.For 100 years now we have been using prison as the dumping ground for the broken people that have turned to heroin.Now we have a crack epidemic as well.Sending addicts to prison is going to help them is Chiu's claim.This is blatant B.S.and Chiu knows it.He just doesn't know what else to do.I'm a nobody that has spent 40 years as a drug addict and am as addicted today as I have been for the duration.Prison did nothing but embitter me and make me far more dangerous than I should or would have been under any other circumstances.I suppose Chiu would blame the heroin.That is B.S.as well.Addicts have a big hole in their soul.If you can't,won't or refuse to fix the hole.Don't expect the addict to change.I've heard a whole lot of talk about treatment and if there was any treatment that was effective the problem would certainly have been reduced by now.The simple truth is there is no effective treatment for the vast majority of hard core addicts.Treatment has to be available and it should be worked on and tinkered to try to find something that works.No-one expects or wants younger addicts to be given up on .It's the older,"Chronic offenders",and other long term addicts that must be put on a maintenance program like NAOMI.I'm sure Chiu knows this as well as I do .He just doesn't have the courage to say so.Police don't make policy.I understand that completely.I just don't think the kind of disingenuous pap that Chiu has chosen to toss around is going to help anyone.

No way to treat an old man

I received a letter from the provincial government last month informing me that as I was six months from my 60th birthday i had to submit information about my eligibility for a federal pension.It was not quite that polite as it threatened my check if I didn't comply.This means they threatened a near 60 year old man with multiple barriers(health problems)with zero money.To say this was stressful would be an understatement.So I managed to get the paperwork together and take it into the office and what was their response?I just received another letter threatening my check if I don't apply for said pension before the next check.As I said I am on disability and have a lot of trouble getting around.Some days are better than others but gathering all this is a lot of trouble and the result will be that my pension,when I am forced to count on it,will be reduced.I don't understand the need to threaten someone with financial ruin if they want something done.I have been prompt with all my paperwork since being put on disability.I do admit to having some difficulty when I had to live on $500 a month as I never had bus fare after the first week.Since then I am always early with everything I have to do as there is no necessity to do something to add to my income daily.I have been turned down twice for extra assistance for supplements in spite of meeting every requirement with the exception of threat of immediate death.That is the reason for the rejection,no threat of sudden death.I have been on a list for a pain clinic as that is the only way I can receive the care I need.It is very painful for me to be on my feet for more that 15 mins.My condition leaves me very vulnerable to stress and prone to panic attacks,which are very unpleasant and scary.I am very grateful that there is a system that takes care of people like myself who have a limited work history and are totally unfit for any job.That doesn't say I condone the way people on assistance are treated.I see no need to threaten a persons security for any reason.To do it so that the government can force me to apply for an early pension at a reduced rate is really sick.Are they so desperate for a hundred dollars a month?I have been without teeth for over three years because the dental coverage is a joke.I had three teeth pulled and found out that that was all the dental coverage I qualified for for two years.I have been in chronic and terrible pain since 2003.I have no idea how long I have to wait as no-one can tell me.I suppose I should be grateful as the way I am being treated I will probably have a shortened lifespan so I won't have to worry about what kind of future I will have.At least I am not living on the sidewalk yet and am able to eat once a day.As long as I can complete an application for an early pension that is.Otherwise i will have to learn to suck air and live in the park.

There's a big difference between legal and ethical

The current case of the investigation of former Solicitor General John Les by his own police forces and government will end with Les being exonerated.Like the police themselves,investigations of politicians by their colleagues rarely results in anything sticking in a legal sense.This case is brand new and there's a whole lot more to be learned before the thing is put to rest.From the information released one thing is clear.Les used knowledge gained while he was Mayor of Chilliwack to later make land deals that made him very wealthy.Did he break any laws?Probably not,Mr.Les is too savvy a politician to make any slips that could get him busted.Did he use insider knowledge to enrich himself and get around some rules he had intimate knowledge of?Beyond question.Les will be exonerated of any crime because he had all the rules and boundary exemptions at his fingertips.He refused permits or oversaw their refusal and waited for the right time to do the machinations that he,as former Mayor knew all about.He profited from his knowledge and position but probably did it in such a way that he is immune from prosecution.I sincerely hope that he won't be allowed to escape the obvious conflicts of interest that he used to enrich himself where the ordinary citizen was unable,even after two attempts,to do the same.This government has never had any concept of the meaning of conflict of interest.Even Ken Dobell is still lobbying for the company supplying the turnstiles for the skytrain terminals.They feel self enrichment of self and friends is a perk of the job.I thought the idea of the huge pay hike they just gave themselves was supposed to eliminate the impulse to cheat as they are well paid.Not well enough for any of the Campbell insiders as they are continually getting caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

Party of the poor wants penny banished

I recently received an e-mail from Jack Layton telling me how the NDP was the only party providing an opposition(true,unfortunately)and extolling all the good things the NDP had done.I answered back that I had been a voter for the NDP all my life and was now leaving for the Green party as I felt they better represented my personal view of my country.I feel the NDP has abandoned it's roots and forgotten where it came from.Now i read this article in the paper about an NDP MP that wants to banish the penny to history.Pat Martin wants prices rounded off to the nearest five cent mark.I guess he finds it annoying having to mess with pennies when things could be rounded off.I happen to come from an upper middle class family.I have ,however been down on my luck a few times and was counting my pennies,literally.Mr Martin doesn't care any more about people that have to count pennies than he does for the penny.He would like the penny and all those that count them to be put somewhere and forgotten.The one thing that makes the penny so important,coincidentally,is that it is so unimportant to people like Mr.Martin and probably mr.Layton as well and therefore they're willing to part with them for charities and panhandlers and anyone else that's down on their luck.Like the old fellow that was just recently on the news because he was collecting pennies for charity.I see this as the same kind of mentality that you hear whenever the minimum wage is brought up.There are those that care about making life better for everyone and there are those that only care about themselves.You hear them complain that if the minimum wage is raised then they'll lose spending power on their money.So what if people are working and can't afford to eat.I'll have to pay more for my beer.The penny is always a way of anyone being able to put a few bucks aside for a rainy day and easier than collecting your empties for a few months.It's sad that the party of Tommy Douglas that gave us our health care system has forgotten where it comes from.Like the health care system that is being starved out of existence by politicians in collusion with the CMA in a selfish and greedy push for a two tiered medical system the NDP is now more about the money than it is about making life a little more even for everyone in this country.When I saw the country sign on for the necessity to possess picture ID in order to vote.I knew there was no-one in Ottawa that was working for the poor and lower income working stiff.If picture ID is to be a requirment,it must be provided free to every voter.Otherwise it's a means of disenfranchising a large segment of society that isn't capable of holding on to or keeping up to date,photo ID.

Just who's being conned with con-air?

When I first read about this program,I thought:"what's the harm?"So far the people sent back seem to be violent felons and I have no idea why they weren't on Canada wide warrants to begin with.Then I hear they want to ship out every-one with any kind of warrant at all.This begins to sound a lot like another of Sam's Civil City projects.These projects,no matter how pretty you dress them up,are cynical attempts to remove as many of the poor and homeless as possible before the Olympics.By shipping them now,it will do just the opposite.The last guy I saw being loaded on a plane(and what's with the media showing up at a convict extradition?)was very vocal about coming back and wreaking havoc.Can't the warrants be waved so these people can do their time here?This has vigilante written all over it.Now we have vigilante redcoats and vigilante guardian angels and now vigilante air lines.Yes,it's the Olympics at it's plutocratic best.All the security money can buy.Remember those cops Sam said we just couldn't afford.Amazing what you can find when there may be a vote or two in it.Let's get on with the mayoral election and find a Mayor with a sense of vision and one that won't sanction any vigilante group with an axe to grind.

pinecone-burke saved with upper Pitt river

At 12:00PM today,wed.Mar.26,2008.Environment minister Barry Penner announced the run of the river power project scheduled for the upper Pitt river is dead.I would like to thank every-one that responded to all the pleas for rejection of this project.I'm sure there are places where this is a workable kind of project but the upper Pitt is a special place and Pinecone Burke is a class A park.Again,thanks to everyone for opposing what would have been a disaster.

Hypocracy and the newspaper

It isn't bad enough that we have only one major media company in Vancouver.The papers don't actually even try to pretend that they speak with any semblance of independence.When Sam Sullivan first ran for mayor,the media loved the guy.Now he can't get decent press even if he does something right.Not that that happens very often anyway.Now the Media is in love with Dianne Watts.To read the papers she's just an election away from a coronation.Ms.Watts is a very clever politician that is very adept at courting the press.If there's anything happening,Dianne is there for any quotes and all available praise,whether or not it's deserved.I've seen different incarnations of Ms. Watts in my 59 years of watching the local political scene and she's one of the most ambitious and unethical I've seen since Bill Vander Zalm.He was also a mayor of Surrey with political ambitions.Not since Bill have I seen anyone so eager to walk to greater things over the backs of the regions poor and homeless.Now Bill didn't have a homeless problem to deal with but he never hesitated to lash out at the lowest end of the societal spectrum.It was Bills government that tried to have addiction declared a crime and to put addicts in jail forever.The thing is,there's always a mob out there that'll support this kind of poor bashing and it was only by attending meetings and exposing people to the truth that the infamous bill was allowed to slip into history without being put before the house.Ms.Watts is another hard line prohibitionist and is the first to the camera whenever there's a chance to take a pot shot at drug legislation.She took an all expenses trip to Europe to study the drug situation there but like all hardliners before her she saw only that which supported her twisted view of the situation and came back with drug courts and forced treatment.Both of these things have been tried and have failed but then that's the history of the drug war.Try it,shelve it wait a generation and then dredge it up and try it again.As long as we are stuck with these politicians that put their personal views over scientific evidence and studies of the problem,of which there are many,that expose the racist and hysteria based reasons for drug prohibition in the first place.We will continue to have social unrest and wanton killing in the streets.These people look to the south for their ideas and their inspiration.If you think the violence and bloodshed that goes on as a daily occurrence in America is a plan we should be looking at,Ms.Watts is for you.If you want the same old answers that have brought us to where we are today,She's your girl.She takes credit for everything that's going well.She must take credit for the whole picture.If you like what's going on in the lower mainland and don't mind dodging bullets,she's good for it.If you think people with addictions and mental problems are criminals and felons,so does she.The lower levels of society have always been an easy target for ambitious politicians with a sociopath's personality.These are unfortunately the people that last in politics as they have no empathy and no conscience.Such is Dianne Watts.If you would like to discover what Dianne has no time to look into there are many sites on the web that will tell you the true history of drug prohibition:drugsense.org,LEAP,stopthedrugwar.org.Any one of these sites contains links to the others and many more. Canada's Green Party wants to end the drug war.

Meet the Press leaves me Depressed

I hope most Americans were watching this Sunday's Meet the Press with Tim Russert.It was very clear from what the Clinton camp's mouthpiece was saying that the Clinton campaign knows they've lost the race for delegates and plan to try to either use delegates from Michigan & Florida which both camps had agreed were disqualified,or use the so called super delegates,Washington insiders the Clinton's feel they can dominate.Both schemes would require backroom dealings and under handed rule bending to succeed. This is classic Clinton politics and if it should come down to this kind of tactic at the Denver convention.It will be the one way that the democrats could conceivably lose the election in November.The people who support Hilary Clinton will support the Obama run for the presidency.The Obama people are so loyal to him and so opposed to everything the Clinton's stand for,they would probably not vote at all.Obama has drawn people who have never or have not recently felt any reason to participate in politics.They would probably rather stay home than to have any part in another four years of a Clinton in the White House.

Don't Let Them Get Away With It

The courts in Alberta have ruled that a company can fire an employee for giving(under threat of losing job)a dirty urine test.The court ruled that such a person would,like a cab or truck driver,be a danger on the jobsite.This precedent setting case,if allowed to stand.Would mean that any employer could demand a drug test as a condition of employment.It would also mean that,even in the absence of any test that can show any but up to 45 day exposure.Even though there's no way to show casual or active exposure.That any one in Canada could be fired for exposure to marijuana smoke,no matter how casual or accidental that may be.Let the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission know that you want this case appealed. Contact:humanrights@gov.ab.ca This is IMPORTANT!