Mitchell Report commentary

Brilliant!

"Hey mom ... I love you and miss you, but I'm pretty busy ... so gotta go ... Bye." I talk to my mom several times a day, and probably like a lot of people, I take it for granted. That's a feeling that only gets stronger when you consider soldiers who are in a war zone this holiday season and how expensive calling loved ones overseas can be.
When Brittany and Robbie Bergquist of Norwell, Massachusetts, heard of a soldier having to pay almost $8,000 for a phone bill to call his family from Iraq, they wanted to do something. With $21, the brother and sister duo, then 12 and 13, respectively, started Cell Phones for Soldiers. The organization turns old cell phones into minutes of prepaid calling cards for U.S. troops stationed overseas.
People donate their old phones to the teens. They came up with the idea to sell them to a recycler for $5 and use the money to buy calling cards. Since they started three years ago, the pair has raised more than $1 million in donations and sent 400,000 minutes to troops. They hope to increase that amount nearly tenfold in the next five years so that more soldiers can call and say, "Hey, Mom."
Source: CNN

Blonde ambition

Someone named Kellie Pickler - a celebrity of some sort - competing on the ridiculous game show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"
Despite her performance here, should she decide to opine on global warming, middle east politics, U.S. foreign policy, the media would immediately deign her wisdom, authority and as a "whip-smart, worldly young woman." Just so long as her opinions mesh with current media orthodoxy: the world is melting; middle east governments are misunderstood; George Bush/US foreign policy evil - until, of course, it is Hillary Clinton/US foreign policy.

BCS BS

Great idea, poor execution

What a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, the execution of the flaming bicycle ride down the damp, sandy bank could have been better. They have added a wooden ramp at the top to increase the speed, fan the flames and create even more skin blistering, ice-bath begging injuries
Or, the cyclist could have put on a pair of devil horns: ooo, look at me, I am satan and I ride a fiery bicycle, give me your virgins and cds and beer and stuff!

http://view.break.com/410861 - Watch more free videos

That smell

CNN continues duping public, working on Clinton campaign

The retired general who was provided the opportunity to query candidates at the CNN broadcast Republican debate on Nov. 28 is a co-chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton's National Military Veterans group. Retired Brig. Gen. Keith H. Kerr was named a co-chairman of the group in November, according to a campaign press release.
Kerr was also active in John F. Kerry's 2004 campaign for president.
CNN ensured other questioners were elbowed aside to allow Kerr - a co-chair of “Veterans and Military Retirees for Hillary" - the floor and ask his Clinton/CNN-contrived question.
Of course CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, who moderated the debate and the panel, did not identify Kerr as being co-chairman of the Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign.
The CNN/Clinton campaign machine grinds on.

RIP Sean Taylor: Great role model, real prince of a man

On Nov. 27, 2007, Redskins safety Sean Taylor died from complications brought on by a gunshot wound. What follows is a timeline of the key events that helped define this great human being’s career and life since he was selected in the first round of the 2004 NFL draft.

2004
April 19 - Taylor’s playmaking, intimidation make him a top draft prospect.
April 24 - Redskins take Taylor with the fifth overall pick in the NFL draft.
April 24 - Thomas Boswell: Taylor Pick Will Be Steve Spurrier’s inadvertent legacy.
July 23 - Taylor fined $25,000 by the NFL for leaving a mandatory rookie symposium in California.
Sept. 27 - Taylor starts for the first time in Game 3, a loss to Dallas.
Oct. 17 - Taylor has his first great game as a pro, with four tackles, a sack and a fourth-quarter interception that sealed the Redskins’ victory over the Bears in Chicago.
Oct. 28 - Taylor arrested on the Beltway for DWI.
Dec. 24 - Taylor is fined a total of $17,500 for infractions including late hits in consecutive games on Giants QB Eli Manning and Eagles WR Terrell Owens. After a string of personal fouls, he is dubbed “the grim reaper” by linebacker LaVar Arrington.
2005
Jan. 5 - Judge dismisses one of DWI charges from October.
March 10 - Second and final DWI charge is dropped.
May 17 - Taylor is absent from offseason practice.
June 3 - Miami-Dade police have questions for Taylor; safety is ‘person of interest’ in a case involving a stolen car and shots being fired on June 1.
June 24 - Taylor is formally charged with one felony count of aggravated assault with a firearm and one misdemeanor count of simple battery for his role in a June 1 confrontation in a Miami neighborhood.
2006
Jan. 1 - Taylor ties for a team-high 11 tackles (seven solo) and returns a fumble 39 yards for his first career touchdown as Redskins clinch a playoff berth with a 31-20 win in Philadelphia.
Jan. 7 - Taylor ejected from playoff game for spitting in face of opponent.
Jan. 9 - Taylor fined $17,000 for spitting on opponent.
June 1 - Taylor enters a plea of no contest to misdemeanor assault and battery charges stemming from a June 1 confrontation in a Miami neighborhood.
Aug. 7 - Taylor is fined $71,764 by the NFL but not suspended in connection with his June plea bargain on a felony gun charge.
Nov. 5 - Taylor has nine tackles and recovers a blocked field goal with six seconds remaining in the game, returning it 30 yards to set up a game-winning field goal in a 22-19 win over Dallas.
Nov. 26 - Taylor has six tackles, one interception vs. Panthers, named NFC defensive player of the week.
2007
Feb. 5 - Taylor named to the NFC roster for the Pro Bowl after leading the Redskins' defense in tackles with 129 (89 solo).
Feb. 10 - Taylor plays in his first Pro Bowl and makes the highlight reel by flattening punter Brian Moorman during an attempted fake.
May 9 - Taylor skips the first week of voluntary team training sessions in the midst of, teammates believed, contract negotiations.
Oct. 14 - Taylor intercepts two of Brett Favre's passes, making Favre the most intercepted passer in NFL history. The game was Taylor's third straight with at least one interception.
Nov. 11 - Taylor sprains his knee in the loss to Philadelphia and misses two straight games, which is why he was not in Tampa with the team on Sunday.
Nov. 12 - Taylor dies, a day after he was shot by "an intruder who forcibly entered his residence," Miami police said.
Sources: Washington Post, Reuters, AP

Cartman football

Hugo 'Thug' Chavez comes clean: Useful idiots, Fellow travellers silent

Venezuelian President Hugo Chavez warned his supporters on Nov. 23, that anyone voting against his proposed constitutional changes would be a "traitor," rallying his political base before a referendum that would let him seek unlimited re-election in 2012 and beyond.
Critics warn he would also have the power to shut down Venezuelan newspapers, television and radio stations by declaring a state of emergency, and the government could detain citizens without charges during such a period.
Meanwhile, malcontents of Hollywood, academia, and politics, who see in Chávez an ideal ally, say nothing. Just as the sympathetic foreigners whom Lenin called "useful idiots", Sean Penn and Michael Moore are too consumed with idealizing and glamorizing others' revolutionary violence. Purposefully blind to the abuses and ball-peen hammer sensibilities of foreign dictators, just so long as the dictator affirms their own paranoid, anti-western script.
Brandishing a little red book listing his desired 69 revisions to Venezuela's charter, Chavez exhorted his backers to redouble their efforts toward a victorious "yes" vote in the Dec. 2 ballot.
"He who says he supports Chavez but votes 'no' is a traitor, a true traitor," the president told an arena packed with red-clad supporters. "He's against me, against the revolution and against the people."
His speech followed the recent high-profile defection of his former Defense Minister Gen. Raul Baduel, a longtime ally who called the president's proposed reforms a "coup." Others have also broken with the Chavista movement in recent months, including politicians of the small left-leaning party Podemos.
Chavez's opponents accuse him of concentrating power and seeking to be president-for-life like his close friend Fidel Castro of Cuba. Chavez insists he will only stay on as long as Venezuelans continue to vote for him.
"If you don't approve (the referendum), maybe we'll have time for a parachute jump in five years," Chavez, a former paratrooper, told the crowd. "But if you wish—if you approve the referendum—I will stay as long as God wills! Until the last bone of my skeleton dries out!"
The proposed revisions would do away with presidential term limits, extend terms from six to seven years, let Chavez appoint regional vice presidents and eliminate Central Bank authority, among other changes.

Source: Associated Press.

CNN adopts Canadian media tactics

While the Ottawa press gallery chose to fellate Liberal P.M.s Chretien and Martin, their mouths have been engaged somewhat differently with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his Conservative government: critical, pointed questions and, on occasion, insightful analysis.
Bravo!
In The U.S., it appears CNN has torn a page from Ottawa’s Parliamentary press gallery Liberal playbook and have assumed a prostrate position before the Democratic National Committee.
The Nov. 15 Las Vegas Democrat debate was apparently stage-managed by CNN to benefit Hillary Clinton, the candidate the network most wants in the White House come 2008.
Maria Luisa, the UNLV student who asked Hillary Clinton whether she preferred "diamonds or pearls" at the debate, wrote on her MySpace page that CNN forced her to ask the frilly question instead of a pre-approved query about the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.
"Every single question asked during the debate by the audience had to be approved by CNN," Luisa writes. "I was asked to submit questions including "lighthearted/fun" questions. I submitted more than five questions on issues important to me. I did a policy memo on Yucca Mountain a year ago and was the finalist for the Truman Scholarship. For sure, I thought I would get to ask the Yucca question that was APPROVED by CNN days in advance."
The debate was analyzed by James Carville (a Clinton supporter) and David Gergen (guy worked for the Bill Clinton Whitehouse). Of course they did what CNN brought them in to do: praise the Democratic vision, praise Hillary.
Almost as ridiculous as looking to the Ottawa press gallery for critical analysis of the Chretien and Martin governments.

Canada's former Prime Minister Jean Chretien dazzles with a touch of eloquent brilliance:

Combo vacation package: Disneyland, gramma's funeral

Your gramma tastes like chicken!

Disneyland workers were recently forced to close the "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction after a ride security camera caught a woman apparently dumping human remains, in what may be a growing trend.
Workers at the Anaheim theme park spotted the woman sprinkling an unidentified substance into the water on the "Pirates" ride. Anaheim police were notified of the incident.
The woman told Disney park workers that the substance she dumped was baby powder, but officials are investigating the possibility that she sprinkled human ashes, Local 6 reported.
Some Disney watchers said park-goers tell them that people smuggling in the cremated remains of their loved ones and then sprinkling ashes on rides has been going on for a while.
They said it started at the Haunted Mansion, but now the "Pirates of the Caribbean" ride is growing in popularity.
Al Lutz, who runs Miceage.com, told KABC that it is not unusual for people to scatter a loved one's remains at the happiest place on earth.
Disney officials said they were unaware of any confirmed ash-scattering incidents in the park and didn't believe it to be a problem, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Park officials said there was no real way of knowing if cremated remains were dumped into the "Pirates" ride.
Source: Local6.com

Now that's what I call a gas price war!

Tired of being screwed over by colluding gas station owners and oil companies; revolted by useless federal employees stealing pay cheques at the Competition Bureau of Canada? Canadians take heart: gas price competition does exist:
Detroit police say a war between two gas stations took a shocking and tragic turn with a station owner shooting his rival who was irate over a gas-price cut.
The shooting happened around 10:45 a.m. at the Marathon station near the corner of Springwells and Fort Street in southwest Detroit.
Investigators say the confrontation started when the owner of the BP station on that corner went to the Marathon station to discuss with its owner why he'd dropped the price for a gallon of unleaded gas to $2.93 per gallon, three cents less than BP.
The discussion quickly escalated into a fight with two more people from the BP station brawling with rivals at Marathon. One man was hit with a baseball bat in the melee. And then, police say, the 51-year-old owner of the Marathon station pulled out a gun and shot the owner of the BP, a 45-year-old father of five children.
In a wild post-script, it appears the BP station is taking advantage of the shooting. While police are still swarming the Marathon station, the BP has jacked up its prices. WXYZ's Bill Proctor reports that as soon as the owner's body was taken away, workers at BP changed the price-per-gallon of unleaded from $2.96 to $3.09.
Source: Scripps TV Station Group
post script: Had the BP owner been armed to the teeth - or wearing Kevlar - when he confronted the Marathon owner and employees, consumers would have benefited through a prolonged price war.

Typical gas station gun fight

Heaven, hell and French mechanics

In Heaven, the policemen are British, mechanics are German, chefs are French,lovers are Italian, and the Swiss organize it all. In Hell, the policemen are German, mechanics are French, lovers are Swiss, and the Italians organize it all.
Case in point:
5 Injured During Ground Tests of Airbus
Nov 15 02:12 PM US/Eastern
TOULOUSE, France (AP) - Five people on board an Airbus 340-600 were injured Thursday during technical tests of the plane on the ground at a French airport, the company said.
Airbus gave no details of the accident.
The company said the four-engine plane, which is scheduled to be delivered to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways, had been undergoing engine tests outside Toulouse, the southwestern French city where the European plane-making consortium is based.
Source: AP

Filthy Canadian lucre

Source: The Onion

Peyton Manning does it for the kids

Seattle soda-maker promises ham flavor will be kosher

It's rare to find kosher ham. Rarer still to find it carbonated and bottled.
Jones Soda Co., the Seattle-based purveyor of offbeat fizzy water, said Friday that it was shelving its traditional seasonal flavors of turkey and gravy this year to produce limited-edition theme packs for Christmas and Hanukkah.
The Christmas pack will feature such flavors as Sugar Plum, Christmas Tree, Egg Nog and Christmas Ham. The Hanukkah pack will have Jelly Doughnut, Apple Sauce, Chocolate Coins and Latkes sodas.
"As always, both packs are kosher and contain zero caffeine," a Jones news release noted.
The packs will go on sale Sunday, with a portion of the proceeds to be given to charity, the company said.
Jones' products feature original label art and frequently odd flavors. Last year's seasonal pack was Thanksgiving-themed, with Green Pea, Sweet Potato, Dinner Roll, Turkey and Gravy, and Antacid sodas. For its contract to supply soda to Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, Jones came up with Perspiration, Dirt, Sports Cream and Natural Field Turf. The company - fortunately or unfortunately - prides itself on the accuracy of the taste.
Jones also makes more sedate flavors, including root beer, cherry and strawberry sodas.
Source: The Associated Press

What says Christmas like a serial killer?

A German advent calendar for children has become a hot seller since word got out it has a picture of a notorious serial killer on it.
The cartoon calendar shows Fritz Haarmann, who murdered 24 young men and boys in the 1920s, lurking under a tree with a hatchet next to the door for December 1. Below him, Santa Claus hands out presents to children in a festive-looking Hanover.
A local tourism office included the serial killer alongside 23 other celebrities in the northern city, including philosopher Gottfried Leibniz and hard rock band The Scorpions.
Haarmann's depiction featured in last year's edition, but this year it is attracting wider attention because top-selling newspaper Bild questioned whether the use of the murderer in a children's calendar was in good taste.
Nonetheless, the serial killer, who was beheaded in 1925, will not appear in next year's edition, Nolte said.
Source: Reuters

The London Brew-nami of 1814

The Industrial Revolution wasn't all steam engines and textile mills. Beer production increased exponentially, as well. Fortunately, the good people of England were up to the challenge and drained kegs as fast as they were made. Brewery owners became known as "beer barons," and they spent their newfound wealth in an age-old manner -- by trying to party more than the next guy.
Case in point: In 1814, Meux's Horse Shoe Brewery in London constructed a brewing vat that was 22 feet tall and 60 feet in diameter, with an interior big enough to seat 200 for dinner -- which is exactly how its completion was celebrated. (Why 200? Because a rival had built a vat that seated 100, of course.)
After the dinner, the vat was filled to its 4,000-barrel capacity. Pretty impressive, given the grand scale of the project, but pretty unfortunate given that they overlooked a faulty supporting hoop. Yup, the vat ruptured, causing other vats to break, and the resulting commotion was heard up to 5 miles away.
A wall of 1.3 million gallons of dark beer washed down the street, caving in two buildings and killing nine people by means of "drowning, injury, poisoning by the porter fumes, or drunkenness."
The story gets even more unbelievable, though. Rescue attempts were blocked and delayed by the thousands who flocked to the area to drink directly off the road. And when survivors were finally brought to the hospital, the other patients became convinced from the smell that the hospital was serving beer to every ward except theirs. A riot broke out, and even more people were left injured.
Sadly, this incident was not deemed tragic enough at the time to merit an annual memorial service and/or reenactment.
Source: www.mentalfloss.com

Admiral Edward Russell's 17th-Century throwdown

Think you can drink like a sailor? Maybe you should take a moment to reflect on what that truly means.
The record for history's largest cocktail belongs to British Lord Admiral Edward Russell. In 1694, he threw an officer's party that employed a garden's fountain as the punch bowl.
The concoction? A mixture that included 250 gallons of brandy, 125 gallons of Malaga wine, 1,400 pounds of sugar, 2,500 lemons, 20 gallons of lime juice, and 5 pounds of nutmeg.
A series of bartenders actually paddled around in a small wooden canoe, filling up guests' cups. Not only that, but they had to work in 15-minute shifts to avoid being overcome by the fumes and falling overboard.
The party continued nonstop for a full week, pausing only briefly during rainstorms to erect a silk canopy over the punch to keep it from getting watered down. In fact, the festivities didn't end until the fountain had been drunk completely dry.
source: www.mentalfloss.com

Hiding in plain sight

LYLE JENISH
Friday, August 31, 2007

Report on Business Magazine


On July 11, 2003, Ian Thow was operating at the top of his game. The gregarious mutual fund salesman seemed to have it made: A senior vice-president of Berkshire Investment Group, Thow owned a $4.6-million mansion; a fleet of cars, including a Hummer, a Porsche Boxster, two Mercedes-Benzes and a Cadillac; and a handful of private jets that could fly him and his clients to exotic destinations at a moment's notice. Victoria's business community marvelled at how quickly he'd risen through their ranks, making a name for himself as a hotshot salesman, community leader and philanthropist, and no one was surprised that he'd positioned himself among the rest of the city's local luminaries as a supporter of one of the city's biggest fundraising events that year, the first annual Courtnall Celebrity Classic golf tournament.
The weekend event, a fundraiser for Victoria's Royal Jubilee Hospital, promised to be one of the most star-studded gatherings the Vancouver Island city had ever seen: Notable names on the guest list included former Baywatch vixen Pamela Anderson, superstar music producer David Foster, Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger, then-Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn and Wayne Gretzky, among others. A media frenzy was descending on the location, the Fairmont Empress hotel on Victoria's waterfront, along with the attendant Hollywood paparazzi, and Thow knew he could count on at least a moment or two in the spotlight. He'd made sure he was more than just another guest at the $300-a-plate gala dinner: As a senior executive at Berkshire, he'd persuaded his firm to sign up as a lead sponsor of the tournament; as an individual donor, he'd pledged $100,000 toward the fundraising efforts, aimed at financing a new emergency mental-health-care centre; and as someone who adored surrounding himself with boldface names, he'd offered the use of his Sea Ray yacht, to ferry celebrities to a private affair at the home of Geoff Courtnall, the event co-ordinator.
Thow had kicked off the fundraising a day earlier, by announcing that he would match donations to the hospital during a local radio call-in show. The gesture raised almost $10,000 over one hour. The next day, he dressed for the gala and joined the celebrity-dotted crowd for cocktails, dinner and a benefit auction.
By 9:30 p.m., dinner was done and all the auction items were taken. Then, a ruddy-cheeked Thow caused a stir in the room by offering a final prize: a trip to Hawaii in his private jet. Once there, guests would stay at the lush Fairmont Orchid. Thow placed one condition on the Hawaiian excursion: a celebrity must accompany the winner. Chad Kroeger volunteered. And as the bidding slowed, actor Kiefer Sutherland said he, too, would join in. The winning bid was $35,000.
It was a typical, attention-getting gesture for Thow, and it upped his currency in the room even more. The following day, the clean-cut businessman played in the tournament at the Victoria Golf Club with an unlikely partner: Pamela Anderson's then-boyfriend Kid Rock, who was swilling beer and dressed in a tank top and John Deere cap.
If Victoria's chattering classes needed any further evidence that Thow was a player, they got it during the year that followed, as his high-flying ways and philanthropic gestures became the stuff of local legend—and headlines: Thow donates $500,000 to the Royal Jubilee Hospital in honour of his late mother. Thow raises $2 million for the Greater Victoria Police Foundation. Thow spearheads a $1.1-million fund at Royal Roads University, paying tribute to friend and client Alex Campbell Sr., founder of the Thrifty Foods supermarket chain on Vancouver Island. Thow purchases art, feeds the homeless and offers his jets to fly sick Vancouver Islanders to U.S. and Vancouver hospitals.
A regular at pie-throwing events and head-shaving fundraisers, Thow was also a featured ambassador in literature distributed by the city-owned Victoria Conference Centre and a model citizen who represented his hometown at international Crime Stoppers events. So it came as a major shock to many when, on Sept. 8, 2005, at 1:30 a.m., Thow fled Canada, crossing the border into the United States at Blaine, Washington, with a flourish of his U.S. birth certificate, just ahead of pursuing RCMP. Left behind were 73 former clients and friends—who claim he ripped them off for more than $32 million—and a growing pile of lawsuits.
The B.C. Securities Commission is due to release the results of its two-year investigation next month. If the clients' allegations prove true, Victoria residents will finally have an answer to the question many have been asking themselves all along: How could a mutual fund salesman in a second-tier market afford such an extravagant lifestyle?
Born in 1961, in Glendale, California, Thow moved with his family to West Vancouver in 1969. His first significant work venture, a travel agency he launched when he was in his early 20s, went bankrupt in 1986. According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, he cited liabilities of $362,658 against assets of $14,300. He was discharged in 1987 and, the next year, he became registered as a mutual-fund salesman at Investors Group. The fledgling employee advanced quickly: After six years, he was appointed regional manager for Victoria. The position carried authority, prestige and a healthy remuneration—including overrides, salary and his own commissions, a former associate estimates Thow was earning in excess of $600,000 a year by the late '90s. But as the years passed, Thow became frustrated with the firm's management and, in particular, a company policy change that stripped regional managers of their client books, putting them on salary. To keep his roster of clients in the family, Thow's wife, Teresa, joined Investors in November, 1996, taking up his list of accounts.
Two years later, the couple left the company to establish the Victoria office of Berkshire, a move that soon led to litigation: Investors Group alleged breaches of confidentiality and fiduciary duty against Thow. In its statement of claim, company representatives said Thow had failed to execute trades for 57 clients on July 15, 1998. Cash was supposed to have been moved to money market funds as world markets went into a nose-dive. Investors Group also alleged that Thow and his wife were actively recruiting their clients to follow them to Berkshire.
The Thows denied the allegations in a statement of defence, blaming the unexecuted trades on administrative errors and claiming the lawsuit was sour grapes meant to embarrass them. The case has remained inactive since 2001 and didn't appear to damage Thow's credibility: Soon after leaving Investors Group, his career appeared to take off. He began living the life of a big man about town. His 6,463-square-foot mansion, near the poky village of Brentwood Bay on the south island, was built by renowned West Coast builder Tim Hackett; the mansion's muscular cedar beams lift vaulted ceilings, and rough-honed stone, quarried from the building site, ties it to the cliffs and cozy bays of the Saanich Peninsula.
Thow enjoyed gazing out of the mansion's floor-to-ceiling windows, over the $100,000 wharf where he moored his $1.5-million Sea Ray yacht. But most of all, he liked drinking, getting red in the face and telling his frequent house guests about his great wealth, accomplishments and A-list friendships—his circle of companions included professional hockey players, property developers, rock stars (Chad Kroeger and actor Patrick Duffy were regular visitors) and successful entrepreneurs such as video-game wunderkind Don Mattrick. Celebrity companions often joined him for gambling and drinking junkets in Las Vegas, salmon fishing in the Queen Charlotte Islands or boozy weekends in Jamaica or at Vancouver's Fairmont Hotel.
At 6 feet 3 inches and well over 200 pounds, Thow was a big man who carried himself big—with squared shoulders and chest out, he greeted people with a hard handshake and a whack on the back. His larger-than-life reputation, however, repelled as many as it attracted. "He was vulgar, arrogant and he turned many people off," says one Victoria business executive, referring to Thow's flashy lifestyle. "Still, many successful, accomplished people had time for him and invested with him. I guess it was the excitement and sense of adventure and success that attracted them."
Victoria stockbrokers, bankers and mutual fund salespeople, knowledgeable about industry compensation and earning potential, shared a dour fascination for their Berkshire colleague, whose grand displays titillated and fuelled water-cooler chatter. Many had heard about how he maintained a fleet of jets, a helicopter, a yacht and a mansion on the salary of a mutual fund salesman. Few, if anyone, knew how Thow was doing it.
Former clients and associates agree, however, that he had an uncanny ability to coolly and quickly size up a person and determine what type of investment opportunity would appeal. To Shirley Garwood and Helena Kells, a pair of elderly Vancouver Island sisters, Thow was the kid who cut the old people's lawns, who had grown into a warm, empathetic man. The young, handsome salesman enchanted the sisters, who he referred to as his "favourite ladies," sweeping them into his big arms and showering them with kisses. The sisters cherished the attention. He was everything that was right: a loving father of four, a member of Victoria service clubs, a man whose charitable acts were seemingly never-ending.
"He was always coming to our house for visits," says Garwood, who lives with her sister in North Saanich, a municipality north of Victoria. "He pretended he cared about us and would look out for us."
Thow had managed their money since his days at Investors Group. When he left to join Berkshire, they transferred their accounts. In 2004, however, the sisters—who live on fixed incomes and have a low risk tolerance—grew alarmed after several of their mutual funds tanked. Thow offered them a surefire way to recoup the losses: short-term, 10% mortgage loans to real estate developers. Carrying little risk, the investment would be money in, money out, he said. Best of all, he would personally look out for them and make sure they were protected.

The fact the sisters had little cash on hand did not matter: Thow told them to liquidate their Berkshire account and cash in their RRSPs. Leaving no asset unturned, he explained to the sisters how they could borrow against their house. He even helped them arrange a line of credit at Scotiabank. After several friendly visits, the sisters handed over most of their money to their "trusted friend," writing $465,000 worth of cheques to Thow and his companies. Soon after, however, their frequent guest became scarce.
While his winning personality and financial smarts won over many investors, others were beguiled by his lifestyle and high-profile connections. Daryl Goodwin, a farmer and commercial pilot from Richmond, B.C., ran into Thow at a Vancouver Canucks hockey game. Goodwin knew Thow from the late '70s, when they both attended a Richmond flying school. It was the first time Goodwin had seen his former friend in almost a quarter century, and he was impressed by his apparent success.
Thow stayed in touch with Goodwin and eventually renewed his acquaintance with his family—Daryl's brother Brad and parents, Don and Anna Goodwin. In the spring of 2003, he connected with them again at an event he'd helped organize. "Spend an Evening with a Billionaire" featured a keynote address by Jamaican-born Canadian billionaire Michael Lee-Chin, whose company, AIC Ltd., owned Berkshire. Daryl and Brad Goodwin attended as Thow's guests, listening to Lee-Chin discuss his investment philosophy and his recent purchase of a 75% stake in the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica.
After the event, Thow worked his magic on the family, ingratiating himself through friendly overtures: He flew the elder Goodwins to Phoenix on his private jet, and then to Calgary and Vancouver Island. "He flew us over to Victoria, and his secretary...picked us up. We met Ian's wife, Teresa, and the kids; we had a tour of Berkshire and his house," says Anna Goodwin. "He used everyone around him."
Then Thow offered up an investment opportunity that appears to have been a favourite of his: He told the Goodwins he was promoting National Commercial Bank of Jamaica stock. His own investments in the bank were underwriting his success, he said, and they, too, could own "special preferred shares," as long as he purchased and held the shares in trust for them. The Goodwin family eventually agreed to move their portfolios to Berkshire. Thow's assistant, Marilyn Moss, helped prepare the documents, and Thow's banker of choice, Dalene Paine of Scotiabank, arranged a line of credit against their homes.
In early April, Thow asked Brad and Daryl to meet him at the Vancouver International Airport, where he greeted them with unexpected news: "Thow came bombing into the Aerocentre in his helicopter, all by himself," says Brad. "He was just bouncing, he was wired. Then he said: 'You guys are in.'"
"In what?" Brad asked. "In the Bank of Jamaica," Thow said. "And since I talked to you last, you've made $40,000."
The brothers were surprised but excited at what Thow seemed able to do for them, and their family eventually gave him $2.5 million to invest on their behalf in the Jamaican bank. That December, Thow invited the Goodwin brothers to join him in Jamaica to check on their investment and to enjoy the Caribbean. The three flew there in Thow's Citation X, and during the flight, they glimpsed a different side of his personality.
"On the flight down he was really upset," says Brad. Thow had told them they'd be staying at a seaside villa in Montego Bay that he'd received as a reward for working on the Jamaican bank deal with Lee-Chin, he says. "He wanted to stay at his villa, but someone else had his cook and his servant. He started yelling into his phone: 'I am Ian Thow. I am coming to my place. Make sure everybody is ready for me when I get there.'" In the end, the "villa" they arrived at did have a cook and a maid, but it turned out to be a suite at a resort.
The brothers visited the Half Moon Bay branch of the Jamaican bank with Thow, who was followed by a bodyguard whenever he stepped out. The rundown, yellow stucco building, next to a mall, underwhelmed the brothers. However, Thow seemed acquainted with the staff: "They knew him at the bank. We walked right in and the tellers and the manager greeted him," said Brad. "We walked behind the counter and Ian introduced us to the manager as investors in the bank."
Then Thow did something that struck the Goodwins as truly bizarre. According to Brad, Thow told the brothers to wait in the van while he walked around the corner of the bank with his bodyguard. Five minutes later, he hopped back into the vehicle. "When he was back, he was holding a huge roll of U.S. dollars and began peeling them off," says Brad. Each person on the flight would carry $10,000 (U.S.) back into Canada—the maximum amount not requiring a declaration at the border. Brad asked where the money had come from, and Thow said the manager had loaded the bank's ATM so he could make a withdrawal. "He told us he did it every time he was in Jamaica."
The Goodwins returned from the trip feeling perplexed. On the one hand, Thow appeared to be a roaring financial success: He had ties to the Jamaican bank and was an executive with Berkshire who enjoyed a great reputation in Victoria. On the other hand, he had yet to produce documents detailing their preferred stock holdings in the Jamaican bank, and his stories were getting outlandish—Forbes magazine was supposedly preparing to profile him in an upcoming issue—and his behaviour was running contrary to the conservative, family-man image he had presented at first. He was drinking a lot, they say, and smoked marijuana while in Jamaica.
Brad says his worst suspicions were confirmed in April, 2004. He and his wife, Gina, had been planning a trip to Africa—Thow encouraged his clients to live life to the fullest, often telling them, "This is your money. Enjoy it." The Goodwins figured they could pay for the adventure by cashing out $50,000 from their apparently ballooning investment in the Jamaican bank. After weeks of missed and cancelled appointments, they eventually met Thow at the Vancouver airport a few days before their scheduled trip. Thow gave Brad a cheque drawn on a credit union account. "He told me there was $450 million (U.S.) in the account." The cheque bounced.
On April 10, Thow, blaming the credit union for shoddy service, wrote another cheque. It cleared at 11 a.m., April 12—five hours before the Goodwins left for Africa. "I was sweating," says Brad. "We get on the airplane and I look at my wife and we say, 'This is a scam.'"
The Goodwins, who, soon after their trip began asking for their money back, weren't the only ones raising questions about Thow's business practices. In September, 2004, Berkshire's compliance department received an angry phone call from one of Thow's acquaintances: Lou Vavaroutsos, owner of Old Mill Pontiac Buick in Toronto and East Side Chevrolet in Markham, Ontario. Vavaroutsos told the Berkshire staff that Thow had invited him and a group of car dealers to go salmon fishing on the West Coast. During their time together, he'd sold his guests shares in the Jamaican bank. Vavaroutsos said he and others each handed over between $750,000 and $1 million. Thow had failed to provide transaction documents or certificates, however, and the Toronto businessman wanted his money back.
Soon after, Thow called Berkshire's compliance department to plead his own case. He said the money the car dealers had given him was for blocks of air time on his jets, which he leased for charter flights through a company he'd established—not for shares in the Jamaican bank. Telephone conversation notes taken by Berkshire's compliance department include Thow's assertion that he "would never put himself, the firm or Michael Lee-Chin at risk by dealing in the Jamaican bank."
Berkshire management was well aware of his airplane dealings, noted Thow, and that his company, Van Isle Jet, was in his wife Teresa's name. He added that he was thinking about "hanging up" his Berkshire business and selling his book to branch manager Richard Burke.
Not long after, the complaint evaporated: Vavaroutsos called back "to say it is a misunderstanding," according to the compliance department records, and that Thow was a personal friend and he intended to do business with his aircraft company. Contacted recently, Vavaroutsos refused to comment, saying only that "the chapter is closed."
Julie Clarke, general counsel for the Berkshire Group of Cos., responded to questions about the incident in writing, asserting that "Mr. Vavaroutsos was not, in September, 2004, nor at any other time, a client of Berkshire." The episode "is currently the subject of investigation and, as a result, Berkshire is unable to provide specific details."
A sworn affidavit by branch manager Burke in relation to a lawsuit launched by Nanaimo, B.C., businessman George Thomson, who claims Thow sold him $686,000 worth of Jamaican bank stock, suggests there were indications of unusual activity in Thow's client base at the time. A growing number of clients were cashing out their Berkshire accounts. According to Burke's affidavit, between 2004 and 2005, Thow's assets under management were declining faster than those of any other financial adviser at the branch.
Undeterred by the Vavaroutsos close call, Thow focused his attention on other potential investors. Pilot Richard Lorette flew the 1979 Cessna Citation II jet that Thow had purchased in 2003 for $3 million. Wanting to share in some of the fund salesman's apparent success, he and his wife, Cathie, had transferred their $240,000 investment portfolio to Thow's care at Berkshire. Lorette had been particularly impressed by Thow after flying him to Omaha, Nebraska, home to Warren Buffett—the world's most famous investor—and his company, Berkshire Hathaway. "Ian said Berkshire was associated with Berkshire Hathaway and Mr. Buffett," says Lorette, and the trip was for Thow to meet with management of the company.
The Lorettes' money went into a variety of low-risk mutual funds, and while the account was being set up, Lorette mentioned that if Berkshire ever went public, he'd like to invest.
"We weren't interested in the mortgage scheme or the Bank of Jamaica," says Cathie, "but Ian could remember things and he remembered we were interested in a Berkshire IPO."
During a chance meeting at the Victoria airport in 2004, Thow surprised Lorette with news that Berkshire was going public, and offered to purchase and hold the shares in trust for him. Soon after, Thow cashed out $197,000 from the Lorettes' Berkshire mutual fund accounts.
"He moved the money before he had both of our permission," says Cathie. The couple protested, and Thow eventually moved her half of the money back. Later, however, Richard Lorette wrote two cheques for the IPO, totalling $120,000, one payable to Thow and the other to A.Y.G., Thow's private company.
If anything was amiss in Thow's life at the time, the man himself didn't reveal any sign of it. The only obvious indication of upheaval was in his personal life: He divorced Teresa in late 2004 and married Alyssa Fritz, daughter of Mike Fritz, one of his pilots. But he kept on living the high life. "Thow was putting on the façade that things were even better and greater," Lorette says. To drive the point home that he still had access to high-end toys, Thow offered Lorette and a number of his friends a ride in a $35-million Global Express corporate jet, explaining that he'd had Bombardier send it out from Montreal. Thow and some friends later took the jet, which has a cruising speed of mach 0.87 and a 5,450 nautical-mile range, to Fiji. According to Lorette, Bombardier pilots flew the plane.
The next time the Lorettes heard from Thow was when they received a letter from him in June, 2005, advising them he was leaving Berkshire.
Within weeks, Thow's world had collapsed under the weight of at least four lawsuits and the allegations of furious investors, most of whom learned he was leaving the company through his boilerplate letter. Attempts to reach him at home failed, though many suspected he was holed up in his mansion.
Thow filed for bankruptcy protection that summer, as complaints against him mounted. At least one group of former clients, the Goodwins, had received a payment of $1.4 million from him in response to the lawsuit they'd initiated, but most were forced to wait for the former businessman's proposal to creditors, which he made in late August. The terms offered the proceeds of the sale of his remaining assets (primarily his North Saanich home) and an additional $5 million from an unnamed, mysterious benefactor. Creditors were scheduled to vote on the proposal at a meeting on Sept. 12.
By now, the B.C. Securities Commission, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association and the RCMP's Integrated Market Enforcement Team (IMET) were all investigating Thow, and the RCMP had asked U.S. border officials to advise them if he attempted to leave Canada. Early on Sept. 8, the American officials did, but the officers didn't make it to the border on time.
Four days later, creditors convened at Victoria's Hotel Grand Pacific to vote Thow into bankruptcy. Thow did not attend the meeting. But the group caught a glimpse of how their money funded the controversial fund salesman's profligate lifestyle. Bank records spanning Jan. 1, 2003, to June 30, 2005, show Thow took $7,150,195 from the five companies to which he had clients write investment cheques. His personal expenses during that time amounted to $1.4 million and reflected his extravagant style: $145,313 in dining expenses, $826,079 in travel, $100,546 in jewellery, $137,963 in clothing, and $180,487 in home furnishings. The Berkshire executive relied on approximately 60 accounts at Canada's major banks and with credit card companies to move, shuffle and hide money, bankruptcy trustee Michael Cheevers told creditors at the hearing. Cheevers also said Thow, during regular jaunts to the U.S., made a habit of withdrawing and carrying exactly $10,000 in cash and, over the same 30-month period, rang up $428,893 worth of cash advances on assorted credit cards in or around U.S. casinos.
Concerned about the unusual activity in the accounts over the years, some banks became "uncomfortable" dealing with Thow and asked him to take his business elsewhere. According to Cheevers, in the midst of one of several account transfers, the fund salesman made eight separate $99,999 deposits in a single day at a Scotiabank ATM.
During the weeks that followed, Thow's philanthropic façade was also torn down. Victoria police chief Paul Battershill said the purportedly charitable businessman did not, as reported, raise $2 million to fund the police foundation. The hospital's foundation received nothing after Thow's $500,000 pledge in the memory of his mother—a gift that he told a Victoria newspaper was "fulfilling a commitment to a dream she had." The only benefactor from these and other conspicuous displays of sham generosity appeared to be Thow himself—it brought him close to people with money. One of his most profitable ventures involved Royal Roads University, which admitted it received only $77,000 of the $1.1 million Thow promised. Meanwhile, Alex Campbell Sr., the fund's honouree, claims Thow took him for $12 million, making him Thow's single-largest creditor.
More stories of Thow's controversial activities emerged this past June when a sad parade of creditors filed through the Vancouver offices of the B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC). Appearing before a hearing panel of regulators and lawyers investigating their allegations, the former clients detailed their stories of loss and described how Berkshire's former superstar adviser had wrecked their lives.
As well, forensic accountant James Blatchford claimed to have untangled Thow's financial labyrinth even further when he presented a 1,500-page report that showed with flow charts and diagrams how the businessman moved investors' money to personal accounts, spousal accounts, leasing companies, realtors, credit cards, auto and airplane dealers and even to other clients, in a frantic attempt to keep his scheme afloat.
"Thow was, or at least became, a predator," said BCSC prosecutor Doug MacKay in his closing statement. "[He] intentionally and systematically stole millions of dollars from his clients, many of whom were elderly and apparently vulnerable to Thow's apparent charms."
Since the allegations came to light, Thow's former clients have battled Berkshire in the courts and in the press. The company now faces approximately 10 lawsuits, and Thow is named in at least 15. Some of the clients, including sisters Shirley Garwood and Helena Kells, were offered mediation by Berkshire. According to Julie Clarke, 15 mediations with 26 individuals who ostensibly invested in syndicated mortgages were held over a two-week period in March and April, 2006, with former B.C. Attorney-General Geoff Plant as mediator. "Every one of those mediations resulted in a successful resolution. Since that time, Berkshire has completed settlements with additional clients in similar circumstances," Clarke adds.
Berkshire continues to deny any knowledge of Thow's activities relating to the Jamaican bank, however, and has vigorously fought claims related to it, arguing that the transactions were conducted "off-book" and, therefore, beyond the scope of Berkshire's compliance department. During the summer of 2005, Berkshire asserted in full-page ads in The Globe and Mail, National Post, Vancouver Sun and the Victoria Times Colonist that Thow had no business relationship with Lee-Chin in connection with the bank and was not authorized to sell shares.
The furthest along and most significant Thow/Jamaican bank-related lawsuit against Berkshire is the one filed by Nanaimo businessman George Thomson at the Vancouver courthouse. The file makes for excruciatingly painful reading: Over several thousand pages of court applications, orders and sworn affidavits, Berkshire's lawyers and staff appear to drag their feet and avoid answering questions—at one point, Berkshire claimed it was unable to locate several years' worth of T4 forms it issued to Thow.
In January of this year, an exasperated Justice R.B.T. Goepel rebuked Berkshire for its stymieing tactics: "Berkshire's failure to comply with the rules of court and various court orders made during the course of this application is not acceptable."
Some of the clients who settled with Berkshire are now going after Scotiabank, complaining that the bank didn't follow proper procedures when granting lines of credit and loans, often against mortgage-free homes. Some have also questioned the behaviour of Dalene Paine, the bank officer who approved many loans to Thow clients. Paine, who has been named in a statement of claim by Paul and Beverley Haley, long-time former clients of Thow's, quit as a Scotiabank branch manager in March, 2005. Two months later, she joined Thow's Berkshire office as a salesperson. Paine's Berkshire-sponsored BCSC registration was terminated July 13, 2005, soon after Thow quit; she is now a mortgage broker with Verico Select Mortgage.
Bruce Cameron MacLeod, another former Scotiabank branch manager whom Thow's clients dealt with, appears on Thow's list of creditors, claiming $100,000. MacLeod's Scotiabank BCSC registration was terminated a few days before Paine's departure from the bank. He too is now a broker with Verico. Neither MacLeod nor Paine returned calls.
As for Thow, he now lives in Seattle, where he reportedly works as a mortgage broker—and, for the most part, has been able to avoid market regulators, creditors' anger and calls from the media. (His listed number has been disconnected, and several other numbers given to former clients are no longer in service. Calls to Larry Feinstein, his most recent lawyer of record, were not returned.) Thow's home is in a tony Seattle condo complex, just north of the famous Pike Place Market and the city's downtown core, and he keeps a low profile. However, he has been forced to come up for air on occasion.
On July 17, 2006, a tired, pasty and considerably paunchier Thow was dodging news cameras and reporters on the steps of the King County courthouse in Seattle. Earlier that month, he had been arrested and charged with assault, interfering with reporting domestic violence and harassment after a dispute with his wife, Alyssa. Thow entered into a plea agreement that required drug and alcohol counselling, domestic-violence counselling and compliance with a no-contact order. He was also placed on probation for two years.
Thow's first wife remains in Victoria with their children. She has returned to nursing, the profession she'd pursued before joining Investors. Asked about her time with Ian, and in particular their days of helicopters on the lawn and jets in the hangar, Teresa Thow carefully suggests she knew nothing about her former husband's dealings. She contends that most of the alleged fraud and excess occurred after their estrangement.
Meanwhile, some of Thow's former clients suspect sabotage from within their own ranks as they combine forces to recover their money and see Thow brought to justice. After the September, 2005, meeting, when creditors voted Thow into bankruptcy, the claimants formed a support group. Its high-water mark was on Feb. 2, 2006, when members met with Lee-Chin at Victoria's Empress Hotel and Berkshire announced it would enter into mediation with some of Thow's former clients.
However, shortly after the closed-door mediation with Berkshire concluded in spring, 2006, Thow began calling from Seattle and taunting his former clients. "He [Thow] said, 'You must be really happy,'" a puzzled Shirley Garwood reported after receiving a call. Asked why, Thow replied, "Because you settled with Berkshire, and did you know you can thank me for that?"
Thow also called 86-year-old Ron Black of Victoria, a $700,000 creditor, who settled with Berkshire. In both cases, Thow appeared to know details of the settlement and the names of the individuals Berkshire engaged with in mediation. Most disheartening to group members, though, was a recent revelation that the de facto leader of the creditor group, Tom Harris—owner of Tom Harris Chevrolet dealership in Nanaimo, and Tom Harris Cellular, a dealership with outlets throughout Vancouver Island—had been sending money to Thow in Seattle, as had Alberta farmer and creditor Kevin Prins. Cheevers, who discovered the fund transfers, refused to speculate on why the money was sent south. Harris, who lost $820,000 to Thow, spoke at length in an interview but declined to comment on the record. Prins did not return calls.
The BCSC will release its decision on Oct. 9. The strongest penalty the regulator can issue is a $250,000 fine and a lifetime ban from selling securities in B.C.
As for the RCMP and the prospect of criminal charges, in mid-July, Inspector George Pemberton, the officer in charge of the Vancouver IMET unit, said "significant progress has been made." Investigators have examined more than 40 bank accounts and traced over $20 million, though Insp. Pemberton said the process has been delayed by banks that refused to provide information, and by witnesses who have not co-operated. He wouldn't say when findings would be forwarded to the Crown.
The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada is still investigating Thow. Enforcement head Shaun Devlin says the self-regulating organization can fine, suspend, terminate or put terms and conditions on Berkshire's licence.
Meanwhile, Manulife Financial Corp. has announced plans to acquire Berkshire's 237 mutual fund and securities dealerships in Canada. The deal, expected to close by Aug. 31, adds extra anxiety for former Thow clients, who feel Berkshire, market regulators and law enforcers have left them twisting in the wind. Some worry the allegations concerning Thow will simply be swept aside.
Sisters Shirley Garwood and Helena Kells speak for many of Thow's former clients when they express amazement that Thow continues to live in a luxury condominium overlooking Puget Sound and is able to taunt them over the phone. "Isn't anything going to happen?" asks Garwood. "Isn't anyone going to do something about Ian Thow?"
Some have tried, but their progress isn't promising. In July, bankruptcy trustee Cheevers applied to have Thow appear in a Seattle court, where he would be required to answer questions about where he's working and how much money he's earning, and to fulfill the obligations he agreed to under the 2005 bankruptcy process. Arguing that the answers could be used as evidence to convict him of a criminal offence, Thow pleaded the Fifth Amendment.

O Brother, where art Thow?
Ian Thow isn't the only member of his family who has run afoul of investors. His brother, Phillip, also worked at Investors Group during the 1990s—as a regional manager in the company's Vancouver office—and also left his job after complaints from unhappy investors.
According to a Vancouver Sun report in 2005, Phillip Thow persuaded co-workers and clients to loan him money to invest in Seattle heritage properties. Instead of investing the money, Thow spent it gambling in Las Vegas, and buying designer clothes and jewellery. Sun writer David Baines reported that after leaving Investors Group, Phillip Thow filed for bankruptcy in August, 1996, declaring $82,500 in assets against $1.14 million in liabilities. He later moved to Washington state where he again apparently ran up debts and declared bankruptcy.

Dancing Jake

Deadly, not magic, mushrooms

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Page: A14
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

When young Morgan Jayne Makowecki died last year, it was thought that a rare liver disease had killed her. Now, after toxicology tests, it turns out to be something quite different: Amanitin poisoning.

Makowecki died after eating a mushroom that was almost identical in appearance to a hallucinogenic magic mushroom. The toxin in the mushroom attacked her liver, eventually killing her. Except for brief flu-like symptoms -- the only signal that treatment is needed -- there was no warning.

The B.C. Coroners Service says the poisonous mushroom was probably a Galerina autumnalis, which grows in the same woody habitat as magic mushrooms.

Coroner Barb McLintock says there is not much information on mushroom poisoning. The Makowecki report took a year to complete because it was difficult to determine the origin of the amanitin.

And the North American Mycological Association says since most mushroom species are rarely eaten, many toxins are poorly documented. McLintock says it is likely other deaths have occurred because of mushroom poisoning, but been blamed on other causes.

Over the past five years, drug awareness and prevention programs have focused almost exclusively on methamphetamine, ecstasy and heroin. Magic mushrooms have fallen down the list of priorities, although they are still popular among students and many are barely aware of the risk.

Users are playing a form of Russian roulette whenever they pick or consume mushrooms.

School drug programs should include information that would help potential users increase their chances of identifying the bad mushrooms.

And the programs should remind them that there is no sure way to avoid the risk except avoiding the mushrooms.

There are times when young people need to hear the blunt truth.

A greener future for Victoria's port; Other ports are co-operating on pollution, and the city can't afford to be left behind

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

Three West Coast ports have agreed to work together to curb pollution. Unfortunately, Victoria is not one of them.

Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver will work together to develop a joint strategy to reduce pollution in the Puget Sound and Strait of Georgia by reducing ship emissions.

The goal is to create a clean-air action plan that will target all sources of emissions, including cruise ships, container trucks, trains and cargo handlers.

But instead of turning away non-complying ships, the three ports will work with industry, customers and the public to develop a common standard for all the ports.

The common goal is cleaner, less-polluting ships ahead of international emission standards, which are expected to be introduced by the International Maritime Organization in 2011.

While Victoria's commercial traffic is tiny when compared to Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, Victoria's share of cruise ship traffic is large.

According to the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, 163 cruise ships and 324,000 travellers will stop at the Ogden Point terminal during the 2007 season. On May 11, an estimated 12,000 eager cruise ship passengers disembarked here. Paul Servos, general manager of the harbour authority, estimated $1 million was spent over the 17-hour visit.

While cruise ship operators are regularly fined for their sewage, garbage and bilge dumping practices, environmental and consumer pressure will inevitably steer the industry toward lower emission standards and greener ports -- in other words, ports such as Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver.

The technology to reduce emissions is already out there. In a recent two-week stay in dry dock in the Esquimalt shipyard, the Holland America ship Zaandam was fitted with a $1.5-million scrubber system that uses seawater to remove virtually all sulphur oxide and a significant portion of particulate matter emissions. The sea water is then treated to remove harmful components.

Money from the work came from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Puget Sound Clean Air Authority, Environment Canada, the provincial Environment Ministry, the B.C. Clean Air Research Fund and the Port of Seattle.

There is clear, widespread interest in making cruise ships cleaner. Victoria would be well-advised to get on board.

Unfortunately, we are already lagging behind the competition. In San Francisco and Seattle, cruise ships plug into shore power and turn their engines off while docked. The Port of Seattle estimates this reduces cruise ship air emissions by about 30 per cent.

Seattle Commission president Bob Edwards says the reduction in emissions is equal to taking 1,100 cars of the road for a full year.

The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority has rejected installation of similar cabling at Ogden Point, claiming that power demand exceeds current capacity.

So our cruise ship-competitor, Seattle, has scored another green point -- and Victoria is forced to play catch up.

A new direction for Island forests; Proposal to shift to second-growth harvest a useful effort at ensuring a stronger future

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Friday, May 25, 2007
Page: A18
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

Despite the risks and uncertainties, there is reason to welcome the province's second effort to revitalize the coastal forest industry.

Forests Minister Rich Coleman acknowledges that a major 2004 forest renewal plan has been slow to result in the promised investment and growth on Vancouver Island and the coast. The move to market pricing and reduced obligations for tenure holders has not resulted in the anticipated new, more efficient mills, despite some investment.

Now Coleman says that a new plan, to be revealed next month, will try a different approach. The government hopes to steer forest companies away from old-growth forests, restrict the export of raw logs from Crown land and encourage intensive forest management practices similar to those now in place in the U.S. Pacific Northwest.

It is a major shift. The coastal industry has been built on old-growth timber, a highly valued resource. But much of the old-growth forest has been harvested and what remains is harder to access and more likely to be deemed environmentally sensitive. Uncertainty about the future timber supply has made companies unwilling to invest in new mills.

The goal now is to shift the focus to second-growth forests and their smaller, more uniform trees.

For a vision of the proposed future for forestry on the Island, look southward to the B.C. coastal industry's main competition in Washington state.

According to the Coast Forest Products Association, forest companies in the U.S. Pacific Northwest now rank in the top 25 per cent in the world in terms of efficiency. Those productivity gains follow 15 years of retooling to better handle second-growth. For the American companies, the change was largely triggered by a watershed event: The loss of access to old-growth timber supply in order to protect the spotted owl.

Coleman's new policy might constitute the turning point for B.C.'s coastal industry.

The required changes will be significant. Companies will now have to retool and refocus on second growth. Because of the past reliance on large-circumference logs, many companies have been exporting the smaller logs to jurisdictions, such as Washington state, better equipped to handle them.

This is not to say the B.C. coastal industry has been standing still. Over the last three years, companies have spent more than $350 million on equipment upgrades, including about $190 million to improve small-log capacity. In 2002, the largest 29 sawmills cut 3.3 billion board feet per year; in 2006, after four closures and one new sawmill, the largest 26 plants cut 3.5 billion board feet.

Some major questions about the new policy remain. Coleman says that logs exported from Crown lands will be subject to a 15-per-cent export tax. But he has yet to reveal the government's position on the soaring exports from private lands. Operators want a free hand; communities claim that the exports are costing them badly needed sawmill jobs.

Both the province and industry acknowledge changes are needed, but the transition will be controversial and sometimes painful.

However, something has to be done. Coleman's proposed policy changes appear to offer a useful starting point.

Recycling through taxation

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Page: A14
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

The Capital Regional District's recycling program is, it appears, a victim of its own success.

The diversion of enormous amounts of recyclable waste from the trash stream has reduced tipping-fee revenue at the Hartland landfill. This creates a problem, since those tipping fees underwrite the CRD's recycling programs.

To maintain funding for recycling programs, the capital region needs to cut costs. It is proposing to close the landfill to the public on Mondays and increase tipping fees.

The closure proposal has upset the union representing the 17 full-time, part-time and auxiliary workers at the landfill, and should upset users as well. The CRD needs to reconsider how it pays for its recycling program.

When the blue box program was launched in March 1989, only glass bottles, tin and aluminum cans and newspapers were collected in Oak Bay, Saanich, Victoria and Esquimalt. By 2000 the program had expanded to include corrugated cardboard and rigid plastic containers in to all CRD municipalities.

A survey in 2004 showed that more than 90 per cent of eligible households use the service. Alan Summers, the capital region's solid waste senior manager, says 34 per cent of waste is being diverted. The goal is 60 per cent diversion by 2012 -- which would mean even less collected through tipping fees and result in higher recycling costs.

Summers says the CRD is the only jurisdiction in B.C. that pays for recycling entirely through operational fees. Along with tipping fees, sources of revenue include the sale of recyclables collected in blue boxes, royalties on methane gas collection at the landfill and fines.

Other regional districts, such as the one in the Cowichan Valley, receive funds through property taxes to maintain recycling programs.

The CRD should develop a financial plan that will ensure the long-term sustainability of its successful recycling program. Higher tipping fees and a Monday closure might provide relief, as will quarrying and aggregate sales.

That's not enough. In the end, everyone here benefits from the program, and everyone should bear some of the costs. The best way to do that is through property taxes, not tipping fees or service cuts.

No quick answer on DND land; Sewage treatment plants need room -- and there is plenty of it at CFB Esquimalt

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Page: A14
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

If the federal government is serious about supporting sewage treatment for the capital region, it won't balk at providing unused Department of National Defence land for a treatment plant.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised support for treatment, including one-third of the $1.2-billion cost.

And one of the critical issues is going to be finding land for sewage treatment plants, whether the plan eventually involves one or two large sites or several smaller locations. Few people will want a sewage plant in the neighbourhood, no matter how much they are assured that modern technology means that it will have little impact.

The Department of National Defence (DND) could help solve that problem. Its under-used holdings in the Esquimalt area could provide the best available site for at least part of the project.

But while the DND says it is open to the idea, officials also sound remarkably reluctant to part with any property. The military would have to consider whether it might ever need the land, they say, and consult widely. The final decision would involve a number of government agencies.

Don't get your hopes up, they might as well have added.

It's not certain at this point that DND land will ultimately be needed. Esquimalt residents can be expected to argue, for example, that they should not be the only ones with a treatment plant nearby.

But it would be helpful now to have a clear indication from the federal government that it will look favourably on any requests.

The DND holdings at and around Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt stretch over about 40 square kilometres -- an area four times as large as Oak Bay. Much of that land is under-used. There is no realistic prospect of any changes in our military that will require the use of all that property.

So it should be available not only for sewage treatment but for a range of other uses. In a region where land is at a premium, it makes no sense for a government to be hoarding unneeded holdings.

Even if the DND agrees to free up land, the Capital Regional District must consider its options.

The land would probably come at a cost, with Ottawa most likely deducting its value from the federal $400-million contribution to the project. The waterfront property could be assessed at a significant value.

And the CRD must also weigh the risks in trying to strike this kind of deal, particularly the potential for long delays as the wheels of government grind slowly on. In this case, it's likely First Nations will also argue that any surplus Crown land should be available to address treaty issues.

The first step should be a clear statement from Ottawa that it is prepared to make a serious effort to make land available if that will help advance the project.

Clashing rights and gypsy moths; The battle over spraying challenges government to balance interests of individuals and public

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Monday, May 28, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

The great Saanich gypsy moth battle goes beyond a simple dispute over pesticide spraying and raises important issues of property rights and the challenge of balancing individual interests and the common good.

Despite a compromise solution this time, the issues deserve attention.

The battleground was the Cedar Hill area, where the provincial government planned a spraying program to slow the spread of the gypsy moth. But the issue has surfaced before in other parts of the capital region and on Saltspring Island.

The conflict takes the same basic form. Provincial officials believe that spraying with a Btk-based pesticide will eradicate gypsy moths, preventing environmental and economic damage.

Inevitably, some residents oppose spraying. They fear health damage or argue that years of effort put into maintaining organic gardens will be undone. They cite their right to enjoy their own property without intrusion.

All are compelling arguments.

But what of the broader public interest? Provincial officials warn that without spraying, the gypsy moth population will increase. Accepting a request not to spray in one area might mean increased destruction for neighbours.

Balancing those interests is difficult enough, but the issue becomes more complex. The Forests Ministry warns that if moths become established agricultural producers would be subject to Canada Food Inspection Agency restrictions on movement of products off the island. This could devastate nursery and logging operations. In 1999, the U.S. threatened to close its border to B.C. timber after a gypsy-moth outbreak.

A compromise was reached in this round of the battle. About 150 properties in the Cedar Hill area will be sprayed with one kind of pesticide, 12 others will be sprayed with a different version deemed to be organically friendly and two won't be sprayed at all.

The pesticides at issue are both versions of Btk. Foray48B, the newer one, has some landowners worried about its impact on their gardens and health, even though it has been endorsed by the ministry. DiPel, thought to be better for organic gardens, is an older version.

The 14 residents opposed to Foray48B have organic gardens. Some of them confronted government-contracted spraying crews earlier this month to halt spraying. Twelve were eventually willing to accept the use of DiPel, which advocates claim is not harmful to wildlife or to beneficial insects.

Compromises usually have a catch. In this case, the refusal to allow application of Foray48B might force the need for more aggressive applications in future. And what of the property rights of the adjacent landowners, the ones who support the use of the newer pesticide? If the older pesticide is not as effective, gypsy moths are more likely to spread to their gardens and trees.

DiPel -- the older pesticide -- was used last summer on Saltspring Island. Traps placed on the island in 2005 captured 40 gypsy moths and in 2006, captured 32 moths. The modern version of Btk usually results in almost complete local gypsy moth eradication. The government says the ability to eliminate the gypsy moth from Vancouver Island is compromised by the holdouts.

Ultimately, competing rights must be balanced, with science playing an important role. Both sprays have been judged safe

A compromise often means that nobody wins. In the Cedar Hill case, if DiPel turns out to be as unsuccessful as it was on Saltspring last year, everyone loses.

Go slow on marine park

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Page: A12
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

Parks Canada must consider how British Columbians use the southern Strait of Georgia before creating Canada's third National Marine Conservation Area.

The federal government is considering creating a 900-square-kilometre marine park that encompasses the Gulf Islands up to Gabriola Island, reaches into the middle of the Strait of Georgia and south to the U.S. border and Cordova Bay.

Bill Henwood, the project manager for the proposed conservation area, told a Sidney public meeting that most marine activities would continue to be permitted. Just so long as participants abide by new regulations.

Meanwhile, in its project "visioning" statement, Parks Canada says that if the waters are designated a marine conservation area, commercial purposes could be restricted. Everyday coastal-community activities, such as shipping, dumping sewage and some forms of fishing could also be affected.

Any new regulations must be concise, clearly stating residents' rights and obligations.

Parks Canada staff have been careful in the past to play down the impact of marine conservation designation. Prior to the 1998 creation of Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park in Quebec, residents asked how it would affect their lives. Parks Canada said marine conservation areas are not national parks; they are meant to "conserve" special areas while still allowing their use.

However, Parks Canada recently unveiled a draft framework that requires that each marine conservation area include a "special preservation" zone for limited research -- with no public access. If the plan goes ahead, which Strait of Georgia island, reef, wreck or estuary will be deemed off limits? And will B.C. residents have any say?

And will there be fees to enter areas or to scuba dive or camp, as there are at Ontario's Fathom Five National Marine Park, Canada's first national marine park? Unless improvements are evident or new services included, charging fees for activities and access to areas island residents previously considered free and open will create animosity.

Habitat and environmental conservation are laudable goals. But a marine park and new regulations will affect residents' lives. Full and meaningful community consultation is needed.

Listen to police on fireworks

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Monday, June 4, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

Saanich has become the latest Greater Victoria municipality to ban the sale of fireworks. It's a step in the right direction, but too small a step.

Saanich residents who want to set off fireworks will be able to do so -- as long as they buy a $10 permit, go through training, and buy the fireworks somewhere other than in Saanich.

View Royal, Colwood and Langford have also banned the sale of fireworks. The Songhees Nation plans a similar ban, making it the first reserve in Canada to take such a step.

But that leaves plenty of other areas where fireworks shops will be able to do a bang-up business. And if all the municipalities in Greater Victoria bring in bans, people will still be able to get fireworks up-Island or the mainland.

So don't expect the ban to reduce the noise around Halloween, the number of injuries to be treated or the property damage that results. We won't see real progress until there are consistent, hard regulations from all municipalities -- or better yet, the provincial government.

Have we forgotten what happened last fall? In Oak Bay, a group of youths fired Roman candles at public works staff and police officers. In Saanich, a pipe bomb packed with fireworks exploded in the face of 18-year-old Stuart Skillings, sending copper shrapnel into his brain. In Victoria, a community centre's bus was burnt after vandals set off fireworks inside it. There was similar mayhem up-Island.

That prompted the B.C. Association of Chiefs of Police to call for a province-wide ban on fireworks sales -- an idea that has been rejected by Solicitor General John Les.

Les has said it's up to individual municipalities to draft fireworks regulations. He is wrong. It is time for the provincial government to take a stand.

There is a place for fireworks displays, of course -- as long as they are organized on a community level and run by people who know what they are doing. The same day that Saanich introduced its ban, it was announced in Vancouver that the Celebration of Light will return this summer. Five nights of fireworks are expected to be seen by two million people.

Events such as this make sense. If a community can produce a spectacular show there is no need for amateurs to waste their time and money, and possibly their fingers, making things go boom.

Yes, we know there is a thrill in setting off fireworks, just as there is a thrill in racing through residential areas in a car. Thrilling, but irresponsible.

It's time for a province-wide ban. It's time for Les to act.

Firefighting sense on West Shore; An aid plan to ensure a co-ordinated response to fires will save money -- and perhaps lives

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Page: A12
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

The proposed automatic-response aid pact between three West Shore fire departments is pragmatic and timely.

The agreement specifies in advance the equipment and personnel from Colwood, Langford and View Royal fire departments that will respond to emergency calls from particular types of buildings, such as a highrises or big-box stores.

Changing times -- and landscapes -- demand such an agreement.

Residential and commercial development on the West Shore is growing both up and out. Colwood has approved a 23-storey residential tower for Wale Road, another highrise in the Colwood Corners area is under consideration and two highrises are being built at Bear Mountain. Langford is also home to most of the region's big-box stores.

These buildings present special firefighting and emergency-response challenges. It makes sense for the region's fire departments to set out in advance how they will respond together to an emergency in these kinds of buildings.

Colwood Fire Chief Russ Cameron notes that co-operation and rapid co-ordination, more than equipment like aerial ladder trucks, are critical. Modern highrises are concrete and have full sprinkler systems and stand-pipe hose connections on every floor, he notes. Most firefighting is done floor-by-floor, within the building. Personnel are needed on the ground, to run hoses and supplies to support firefighters in hallways and suites. A battalion of firefighters is more important than a motorcade of aerial trucks, Cameron notes.

But the pact will allow the departments to co-ordinate their equipment plans as well, avoiding any unnecessary duplication of costly trucks and firefighting gear. View Royal and Langford fire departments already have aerial trucks equipped with 32-metre ladders capable of reaching about seven storeys.

The three fire departments co-operate now under a mutual-aid agreement. If an individual department responds to a fire call and finds the blaze beyond its capabilities, it calls for help.

But a fire can double in size every minute. Calling for help from the scene means a wait while neighbouring departments assemble and dispatch personnel and equipment, when minutes can determine firefighting success or failure -- and even life or death.

The proposed automatic-response agreement -- which only Colwood has signed so far -- ensures an immediate response to major fires. Each department sets out what equipment and personnel it will provide. The response is co-ordinated and immediate.

Someday, the fire services will be fully integrated.

But a systematic, structured response to fires is needed now. This agreement will improve safety for all three communities. Langford and View Royal should be quick to sign on.

Hartley Bay needs answers on ferry; B.C. Ferries must prove its case for leaving the Queen of the North beneath the ocean

Times Colonist (Victoria)
Monday, June 11, 2007
Page: A10
Section: Comment
Source: Times Colonist

The decision by B.C. Ferries not to raise the sunken Queen of the North from the bottom of Wright Sound has created anger and suspicion in Hartley Bay.

The corporation says lifting the ship more than 400 metres is too risky.

And since there is little or no diesel fuel left on board, it argues that there is little environmental risk if the ship is left underwater.

B.C. Ferries says its decision is based on information collected during an extensive environmental and technical review by international scientific and salvage experts.

Gitga'at chief councillor Bob Hill sees it differently. He says the corporation's claims that no fuel is left in the ship are "simply bull."

The area's shellfish and seafood industries are jeopardized by long-term leaching of fuel, oils and contaminants, Hill says.

The first step in resolving the dispute is openness.

Frustrated Gitga'at First Nation members and residents of Hartley Bay -- and all interested British Columbians -- should be shown all the evidence that B.C. Ferries relied on to reach its decision.

The corporation should post all its studies and technical reports on its website and let those interested reach their own conclusions.

Contamination has already occurred. After the sinking last year, the bay was fouled by a visible oil slick estimated at up to 340 square kilometres. The oil contaminated the beaches of Fin Island, where the Gitga'at dig for clams.

Hill and other Hartley Bay residents are worried about a sudden release of the 150,000 to 200,000 litres of fuel some believe could still be on the ship.

And they're worried about even the perception of contamination. The lucrative spawn-on-kelp fishery produces herring eggs sold primarily in Japan for sushi restaurants. Any hint of pollution is damaging.

The residents deserve comprehensive answers.

B.C. Ferries must demonstrate that the wreckage of the Queen of the North is safe and that it will not continue to contaminate the waters around Hartley Bay. It must explain why, if there is no fuel on board, salvage has been rejected as an option.

The first step toward allaying concerns and creating certainty is for B.C. Ferries to make public all the data and information gathered by the scientific and salvage experts.