Ski to Sea

Fresh snow on the local mountains again this morning. Since the ski area is closed now I cut across the ski hill to the Howe Sound Crest trail. All the trail markers are under 10 feet of snow. Even the map shelter at the base is buried.



The way up was magnificent. Not much visibility at the top the the way up was worth it.







Then instead of waiting in rush hour I went over the White Cliff. Now that is what I'm talking about. The best things in life are still free.

Put on your game face

Nobody likes violence and I think riots over hockey games is stupid. Yet there is anti scab legislation in BC that is not enforced when a federal company goes on strike and that is wrong. Scab labour causes violence and is no different than breaking into someone's home and stealing the food off their table. It is theft and creates a powerful knee jerk response. The anti scabbing laws in BC need to be upheld during the next postal strike.

Warriors Come Out to Play ...

Warriors Come Out to Play ...

Warriors Come Out to Play ...

RBH under attack

Peaceful civil disobedience

AFI antagonism against TELUS workers

Canada Post Contracts out Call Centres

Well this is kind of a surprise. Canada Post just gave out Easter lay off notices for employees in call centres at Winnipeg, Ottawa, Fredericton and Antigonish. The work is going to a private company called Minacs that specializes in outsourcing and off shore call centres.

Bruce Simmonds, the CEO of call centre company Minacs stepped aside at Minacs into an advisory role in 2007, the year after his brother filed an application against Minacs. Janet Ecker, a former provincial finance minister for the Harris governement and a Minacs director, is one of the individuals named in the suit.

Minacs specialty is "Outsourcing Business Solutions." They're full of BS alright. They reduce call centres in Canada and then shut them down. Moya Greene would be proud. I thought we were looking at anti terrorist legislation in Canada? This corporate terrorism kills Canadian jobs.

Aditya Birla Nuvo is a $24-billion conglomerate based in Mumbai, India. The larger firm bought 90 per cent of Minacs, founded by the late Elaine Minacs, in 2006, and established it as a subsidiary of the larger company.

Deepak Patel joined Aditya Birla Minacs as the CEO in September 2008. Aditya Birla Minacs acquires UK based Compass BPO. That would be Business Process Outsourcing in the UK. So Moya Greene goes to England to privatize and destroy the Royal Mail while the company Canada Post sells it's call centres to is an outsourcing company in India that is now outsourcing jobs in the UK. Why does that not surprise me?

Looks like more public demonstrations are on the way over this kind of corporate terrorism. No wonder Canada Post just had a 94.5% strike vote. Maximize Revenue and Minimize Costs while you throw customer service out the window.

The outsourcing industry can be a catalyst for this new stage of India's growth. But what about customer service and the economies of Canada, US and the UK? Stocks rise when jobs are outsourced because investors get their services for less money. Yet that destroys the country's economy and tax revenue where the revenue is taken from and the jobs stolen. This is why we need public accountability in a democratic system. The large corporations do not care about destroying local economies if they can make a quick buck.

The Easter Rising

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The Sun of Righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves in the stall and mount up with wings as eagles.

You are an eagle. Spread your wings and fly.

Bowen Island Lookout

Went for a short snowshoe to the Bowen Island Lookout on Cypress.



This is Bowen Island.




The far island is that other island I paddled to from Lion's bay in the summer to catch the sunrise behind the Lions.

Eagle vs Heron in Stanley Park

Kind of a sad tale of nature's reality in Stanley park. Since they got rid of the zoo at Stanley Park there has been a nesting site for rare Blue Herons just outside the Aquarium. It's been there for years.

Well now the eagles are raiding the nests on a daily basis eating the eggs and eating their young. It's kid of just part of nature but it seems unfortunate that the eagles are raiding on a daily basis and keep coming back. Soon those herons will be extinct.

Normally when the eagles come the herons take to the air but they are finally starting to fight back. The blue herons don't have the long sharp bill the regualr herons do so it's pecking isn't as effective.

In Surrey the crows all gang up on the Eagles and keep dive bombing them over and over again. They do the same with hawks that steal their eggs and young. The herons need to get together and gang up on the eagles or they'll be come extinct.

Kind like us joining together to fight corporate greed. Kinda makes ya wanna take a sling shot and throw rocks at the eagles to protect the herons there.

Canadian Postal Workers 94.5% strike vote

The media reports that Canadian Postal Workers "may" go on strike after the results of a 94.5% strike vote. This clearly shows us two things: The employees at Canada Post are not happy with the unprecedented roll backs the Corporation demands they absorb and the Union is still being very reasonable about the disagreement. They still want a negotiated settlement.

You always get some people that will vote to strike and some that will vote not to strike no matter what the issues are on the table. A 94.5% strike vote is huge. The union states the concerns are: "The corporation wants to pay new employees 30 percent less. It wants to reduce their benefits, weaken their job security and provide an inferior pension. It also wants to attack retiree benefits, sick leave and turn back the clock on many other contract provisions."

So once again we have 16 years of consistent profit and huge roll backs from the Corporation just because. One of the pinnacle problems is route measurement. Moya Greene's last act of terrorism at Canada Post before she left to destroy the Royal Mail in England was to turn a profit making dividend paying company into one that was $2.5 billion in debt. Instantly.

Borrowing a huge amount of money to buy machines that would greatly increase the workload and eliminate a huge number of positions in an economic recession. That is Moya's Madness. Creating more unemployment during a recession is not wise. Neither is throwing away tax revenue but what can I say, that's Moya Greene.

The problem is the insane way Canada Post is insisting the new rules be followed to implement the new sortation machines. The new rules are absolutely insane and have completely wrecked havoc in Winnipeg which was the test model for the new system.

The Union won a grievance in Moncton stopping the insane rules. It comes as no surprise the Corporation is now demanding key words in the collective agreement be changed so they can reverse the Moncton decision and implement their insane rules just because. Destroying a good job and destroying a good pension is bad business.

99 Red Balloons

Heard an old song today and reflected on life. The German lyrics are slightly different than the English version. We all make choices. I made mine and I'm OK with it. I said what I had to say. I'm feeling a little James Brown about it all. Let it rock.

The Vince Ready Decision

Between the TWU and George Doubt and Sherryl Anderson

I’m not going to post the decision in it’s entirety but I will quote it and comment on it. Most of the members of the TWU have seen or have access to the decision.

Let me begin by stating that Vince Ready is the most respected arbitrator in British Columbia. He’s not some fly by night wing nut. He has a renowned reputation for being fair and insightful and has been asked to mediate some very significant disputes.

Having said that I was surprised to hear he was arbitrating Sherry Anderson’s case with George Doubt and the TWU. Once again he proved to be fair and insightful.

I will note that the last paragraph of page 22 of the decision clearly states: “There is nothing in the terms of reference in these proceedings or in the original Decision of Final Resolve that prevents Anderson from seeking office in the future.”

You can’t get any clearer than that. Sherryl was never terminated from working at TELUS. As an employee at TELUS she is still entitled to run for office. Page 24 of the Ready decision states:

“I find that high-handed conduct is a good description for the way in which Doubt and other members of the Executive Council acting on behalf of the TWU blocked Anderson’s right to a fair hearing. .. the physical and mental distress Anderson experienced as a result of the Decision of Final Resolve was prolonged and worsened by the continuing injustice perpetuated against her.”

Page 25 states: “the TWU breached its duty of care to Anderson when it decided to remove her from office in response to Doubt’s complaint and contrary to the Constitution. It is evident that the blatant manipulation of the Harassment Policy in order to oust Anderson from her position caused her a great deal of pain and suffering.”

As a result Sherryl was awarded tort damagers for negligent infliction of mental suffering and aggravated damages for the manner of the breach and the manner of the tort.

“In adopting the Decision of Final Resolve, the TWU Executive Council ignored both the Court’s decision in Bell, supra, and the Constitution. This time they used the Harassment Policy to remove an elected officer before the end of their term. The abuse of process to which they subjected Anderson is deserving of harsh condemnation. This Union must realize that its elected officers ‘…are not tissues to be used up and then thrown out at a whim…’ Consequently punitive damages were awarded as well.

Finally the Union’s response to Anderson’s requests for representation was also disturbing. Anderson sought to have a Union member represent her as was the practice in internal disputes. The Union put time and effort, including its legal resources, into ensuring that Anderson could not have the representation of choice.” As a result Sherryl was awarded her legal costs as well which she had to front out of her own pocket.

There are two issues on the table. They knowingly violated the Constitution and ironically abused the Harassment Policy to unlawfully fire her from her position on the executive as Secretary Treasurer in charges of finances. Then they continued to railroad her and continued to perpetuate injustice against her. Just like they did with Lila Hacket.

Lila and Sherryl were loyal stewards of the Unions finances. In a very short time all the loans from other Unions incurred during the 2005 labour dispute were paid in full. Once those loans were paid, many members wanted the temporary increase in Union dues to be repealed. The delegates were convinced to keep the temporary dues increase so the Union could “rebuild the war chest.” I.E. replenish the Strike Fund.

When Lila and Sherry saw that the Executive were not using the temporary dues increase to replenish the strike fund they expressed their concern and were harassed for doing so. As soon as the loans were paid the EC were like kids in a candy store wasting money in all manner of insanity. A large portion of the expenses were for lawyers to silence and sue their own members.

Sherry couldn’t put up with their harassment any more and on April 1 2009 went on medical leave. While on medical leave she saw from E-mail and EC minutes that the EC was making expenditures and reassignments that she thought would be a concern to the members. After she sent an e-mail notifying the members, George Doubt filed a harassment complaint against her as well as Lila Hacket and Harmony Jackson on April 26 2009. Harmony was one of the Brave 66.

As soon as Sherryl went on Medical leave they attacked Lila. They punished her politically with reassignments then they outright unlawfully fired her. Their harassment was taking a toll on Lila as well and she took the buyout and left.

Realizing Lila and Sherryl were already under a great deal of stress and that their cases were proceeding through the courts, I did not want to prejudice their cases. Yet the members needed to know what kind of insane injustices were going on at Lane Street. That’s when I did the photo shoot with the anchovies and fruit loops. Without going into detail I simply recorded my dissent and said what they did to Lila and Sherryl was wrong. The Ready decision has now confirmed that. Tamara Marshall’s bobble head rationalizations for their abusive and illegal conduct was shocking and disappointing.

The real issue on the table is finances. As soon as Tamara took over as acting secretary treasurer, the finances have gone down the toilet. Last convention she pounded the pulpit and said the rumors of the Union being in financial trouble were false. Shortly thereafter she sent out a letter saying the union was in financial trouble and needed to cut costs and raise dues again. That gave rise to her indisputable credibility gap.

This convention needs to deal with the TWU’s lack of financial control since Sherry and Lila were ousted. I believe Sherry should run again for the position and I think the members and delegates should support her. When she was there things were fine. When she was kicked out things were not.

The biggest expense and most outrageous injustice in the amount of money the TWU is spending on lawyers to sue their own members for political purposes which clearly is unlawful. This convention needs to cut off the TWU’s finances for a new higher priced lawyer to deal with Lila’s complaint.

The Geiger-Adams decision on behalf of Lila simply adjourned the EC’s application to dismiss her complaint. The TWU applied to have her complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal dismissed and they lost. Her complaint will now proceed. Lila is representing herself. There is no reason they can’t do the same. There is no reason they have to retain a new higher priced lawyer to argue her complaint. Settling it would cost less and be in everyone’s best interest.

And just for the record, I have to take back what I said about Stewart Little being a Bad Ref. Master Stewart knew the dangers of empowering Darth Sideous and we had no idea he could have been so evil. Circumstances don’t make the man or woman, they reveal him to himself and to everyone else in due time. No lie can live forever.

Cherry Blossoms and Fresh Snow

The Cherry Blossoms are starting to fall and we're still getting fresh snow on the local mountains. All is not lost.



Vancouver is having it's 125th birthday. It's hard to conceive that Vancouver is only 125 years old. That's nothing for a city. Back in Egypt or Ireland cities are thousands of years old. It's amazing how recently Vancouver was discovered and inhabited.

In such a short time the price of land has gone become so expensive in such a short time it's frightening. It really didn't take us long to screw things up royally. Yet it's nice to know that the best things in life are still free. A fresh snowfall. A new sunrise. A walk in the rain. A quiet sunset. These are a few of my favorite things.

The Trumpet

On a lighter note, I just came back from a college Jazz concert. There was one trumpet player that reminded me of Greg Hopkins, a very talented trumpet player who can work magic with that instrument.

When you hear the word trumpet, various images comes to mind. And I saw another angel... ancient long trumpets used in revelations to usher in the next prophetic stage of the Apocalypse. They used to have long plastic trumpets at sporting events when I was a kid.

Military Bugles are used as a wake up call or to sound attack or retreat as well as a sacred last post memorial. Of course trumpets can be part of the wind ensemble of a symphony too. Yet the most dominant image I have is the jazz trumpet. Calm, confident, magical.

Music is good for the soul. It expresses our joy and our sadness. Our dreams and passions as well as our grief and sorrow. My father always used to say feelings are neither right or wrong they just are. People have a right to their feelings. How some people express their feelings can be right or wrong. Expressing our feelings through music is most appropriate.

9/11 Mastermind

The news claims that Professed 9/11 mastermind to be tried at Gitmo. They are referring to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed not Osama bin Laden. Khalid is from Pakistan not Afghanistan. After being tortured in Guantanamo bay he confessed to the 9/11 attacks as well as several other bombings. Aside from the fact that I think it is a bogus confession, the point is if he's the 9/11 mastermind, then why did we invade Afghanistan? For the oil or the opium?

A Sad Day for Islam

Well today is a sad day for Islam as false Muslims mock the Prophet Mohamed with their murderous actions in the third day of riots in Afghanistan. It all started with a false Christian burning a copy of the Koran. That was a very unchristian and disrespectful act. Yet the response has been absolutely demonic. Protesters murdered 20 people and beheaded 2 of the victims.

Please be advised that Allah never, ever said to do this. Two wrongs do not make a right and no one in their right mind thinks this kind of over reaction has anything to do with Islam. Their actions are burring the Koran over and over again.

It is sickening to see how psychopaths can distort a religion into something so evil. Yes burring the Koran was wrong but committing murder is worse. If one Muslim committed a crime, it would be absurd for me or anyone else to blame all Muslims for that offence.

The Americans take great offense when someone burns their flag. To the Americans their flag is sacred. They don't let it touch the ground. Burring their flag is offensive. Likewise burning the Holy book of any religion is even worse. It is tasteless and disrespectful.

Yet look at the psychotic over reaction. That is unGodly. In response they burned an effigy of Obama and danced around a fire hitting it. That is also disrespectful. You earn respect by showing respect not by abusing respect. Beheading an innocent person is barbaric. When you start acting like a savage your lose claim to anything Godly. There is nothing holy in committing such atrocities. God is great but murder is not.

All the riots will do is turn the world against them as the public says OK, nuke 'em. Insane people like Sarah Palin would love to start another Crusade. In my mind that would be a real tragedy yet these kind of insane actions beg for it.

It does make us wonder why on earth we are trying to help these people. Look how they treat their women. A Prophet once said "By their fruits ye shall know them." We will know a true religion from a false religion by the actions of it's followers. Right now the actions we are seeing are evil.

If someone burned a Bible, people would be offended but no one would commit murder and start beheading people. To me, those two different responses says a lot about the respective religions. One is a peaceful religion, the other is not.

Obviously we can't blame all Muslims for the actions of a few but it's more than a few and their behaviour stains Islam with innocent blood and mocks the Prophet Mohamed far worse than any editorial cartoon.

I remember the riots that occurred after a Danish newspaper printed a political cartoon about a suicide bomber. The rumour that was spread was that the cartoon mocked the Prophet Mohamed when it did no such thing. It mocked a murderer who thought Allah would reward him for committing murder. It mocked the idea of a suicide bomber thinking God would reward him with seven virgins to be married in heaven for blowing up innocent people. Ya see infidels think that concept is satanic and the actions of those psychopaths that perpetuate that kind of violence proves it.

A Sad day for Ireland

Today is a very dark day for Ireland so it is. For all of Ireland. A Catholic was killed by a Catholic in Omagh, Northern Ireland. The press is claiming it was the IRA because the IRA stated it would target Irish Catholics who join the police force. This has broken a long seize fire from the IRA.

Ya know a lot of people claim to represent the IRA or the RA for short. Tell me this wasn't the Provos. Tell me it was the Sticks or the INLA like the wack job that kidnapped a dentist in Dublin many years ago and sent his fingers to his family with the ransom note. That evil act had nothing to do with freedom. It was a direct violation of the Irish Proclamation as was this murder.

Give your head a shake man. You just killed one of our own. I know Omagh has always been a pretty Republican town so to speak. I don't know if they're Sticks or Provos. But I do know this murder was wrong.

For years, Ireland has refused to recognize British rule. Bobby Sands suffered in H Block and refused to wear a prison uniform because he wasn't a criminal he was a political prisoner. I've heard stories from former inmates who claimed they would sing a hymn at the end of the day at Long Kesh that was the most heavenly thing they had ever experienced.

Booby Sands was an elected MP but refused to take his seat in a British Parliament. Bobby Sands and the H Block hunger strikers were noble soldiers so they were. Yet they fought for a cause and that cause was self rule not self destruction.

Ian Paisley, the devil himself, finally changed his ways and agreed to sit down with old Gerry Adams from Sein Fein. Progress was made at the peace talks and elected MPs in Northern Ireland finally started to take their seats in British Parliament. This was not apostatising from the original cause so it wasn't.

50 % of the people in Northern Ireland don't want to be a part of Ireland so they don't. 50% of the people in Northern Ireland want to be a part of England so they do. That makes the struggle very problematic so it does.

The struggle has always been one for freedom and democracy. You've got to support the democratic will of the people. The Irish Proclamation reminds us cherishing all of the children of the nation equally and oblivious of the differences carefully fostered by an alien government, which have divided a minority from the majority in the past.

Differences carefully fostered by an alien government. Killing our own would clearly fall into that trap. I want to know who did this. We know it wasn't the Irish Republican Brotherhood. We know it wasn't the Fianna Fáil. Their noble ghosts form the banshee who wail and mourn over this inhumane murder.

What are ya gonna do now? Kill Gery Adams for taking his elected seat in Parliament? Don't be a fool man. The American Revolution was all about taxation without representation. You have representation if you will but stand up and take it. If Northern Ireland was a free state you'd need some kind of police force. Don't tell me the brethren selling crack will be the police force. I think not.

If Northern Ireland was to become free, despite 50% of the population who already think it is, your would need some kind of police force. Wake up and smell the coffee man. Times have changed. The earth yearns for democracy not for murder and oppression. Ireland has had enough of that from foreign oppressors. Ireland doesn't need that from within.

Don't kill an elected MP for taking office. Taking office is the way to make change and that is the way to self government just like the Free State was a stepping stone to the Irish Republic so it was and don't piss on Michael Collins grave for that. He set the south free. Because of what he did, the free state became the Irish Republic.

Don't tell me Gerry Adams is selling out because he's standing up and taking his seat in Parliament. We can't sit on our knees and wipe shit on the walls forever so we can't. It's time to stand up and take what is rightfully ours. Killing our own is not the way to do it.

Ian Paisley used to burn the flag of the Irish Republic and say "Ulster says No to a United Ireland." Burning the tricolour was an offence to peace between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland but that is what they did every July 12 so they did. They burned the flag and pissed on the dream so they did.

Well I say to you today that this evil act has pissed on the flag and pissed on the graves of the noble signers of the Irish Proclamation who gave their lives for the cause and sealed that proclamation with their blood.

"We place the cause of the Irish Republic under the protection of the Most High God. Whose blessing we invoke upon our arms, and we pray that no one who serves that cause will dishonour it by cowardice, in humanity, or rapine. In this supreme hour the Irish nation must, by its valour and discipline and by the readiness of its children to sacrifice themselves for the common good, prove itself worthy of the august destiny to which it is called."

Murdering your own who stands up to take what is rightfully theirs is a cowardly inhumane act that violates the Irish Proclamation and pisses on the graves of those noble soldiers who sealed that pledge with their blood.

Who did this murder? I want to know and I want you to know that if Ireland is to move forward by sacrificing for the common good, these murders must stop and we must embrace the democratic process or it will be more than Banshee that will me coming for ye. Mark my word.

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Turns out it was a splinter of a splitter group - Oglaigh na heireann which broke off from the "Real IRA" which wasn't the Real IRA at all. The "Real IRA" were wackos who broke off of the IRA and didn't want peace. Oglaigh na heireann broke off of the break aways. Now surely the Real RA IE. the Provos, will take care of that unsightly splinter. Nobody in West Belfast supports these new wackos.