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Deuling & Co
Lawyers
Joseph Deuling, LL.B
“Proudly serving Lumby & District”
Miller St. Lumby – 250-547-8827
Wildcraft Forest
moosinformation
My Valley Sun
blog
October 17, 2013
Bullish on the real news in the Monashee
index
Online Community News for Lumby, Cherryville, Rural Coldstream and Highway 6
We update this website on a regular basis. We are eager to receive your news, events, advertising and letters by email at: mediaservices@uniserve.com
Dancin' with the one's that brung ya?
Perhaps no news means that the provincial government is sitting on a powder keg regarding 3P construction projects – including the planned Okanagan Jail. Corporate powerhouse SNC Lavalin which recently purchased the nuclear reactor business from Atomic Energy Canada, is a regular bidder on provincial 3P construction projects. The company almost won the bid for the new RCMP headquarters in Surrey and would most likely make a pitch for the construction and management of the Okanagan Jail – but here’s what you need to know - the RCMP is investigating the company because of accusations that employees of the company allegedly bribed public officials regarding a contract in Bangladesh.
It’s weird - RCMP raided the company’s offices in Toronto following a request from the World Bank, which is investigating allegations of corruption in the bidding processes for the Padma Bridge Project. Do we need to ask if bribery is emerging within these 3P projects as multi-nationals compete here in BC?
(I wonder if the World Bank could request an investigation allegations of corruption anywhere?)
But it doesn't stop there.
It’s hard to believe that members of the pro-jail side of Council including Mayor Acton are seeking re-election. Breaking news confirms a fear that many of us had with regards to escalating policing costs and even greater policing costs if Lumby hosted a jail. Now the story below confirms that there is a huge problem emerging and one that places the costs of hosting a jail impossible to forecast.
Now with the Federal tough on crime legislation to become law this time next year we can be assured that the Okanagan jail will run at full capacity and perhaps be overcrowded – this could mean 1000+ inmates.
Feds threaten to withdraw RCMP service in B.C.
CBC News Posted: Sep 27, 2011 5:54 PM PT
B.C. Solicitor General Shirley Bond says she's been given an ultimatum by the federal government.
In a written statement, Bond said negotiations on a new RCMP contract are "stalled and stonewalled on the federal side of the table."
She said Ottawa has threatened to withdraw service if a new contract is not reached by November. The current contract expires next year.
"We have found it difficult to get meaningful federal engagement on key issues and because of their stalling, we are seeking to extend the current RCMP contracts to allow more time for negotiations," Bond said.
B.C. has worked hard for four years towards a new agreement, Bond said, and she's not going to give up.
"I am committed to making a deal that reflects a true partnership, strengthens accountability and contains costs in specific ways — matters the federal side has been ignoring in the interest of giving us an ultimatum," she said.
"That ultimatum is an unfortunate development for local governments who’ve been consistently concerned about containing their escalating RCMP costs ... We are seeking a more integrated effort among all partners, and better information-sharing to help strengthen accountability and cost-control."
Bond said she still firmly believes in the benefit of having a national police force like the RCMP but is "starting to wonder whether the federal government still wants to be in contract policing."
She closed the statement by urging federal negotiators to return to the bargaining table.
The RCMP polices all rural areas of the province and all municipalities except for 13 cities where local police forces have jurisdiction.
Canadian Census deadline approaches
The Canadian Census deadline approaches and Stats Canada is eager for your private data. But it’s not really StatsCan that’s gathering the data – in fact its American controlled Lockheed Martin.
That’s no bull – the world’s largest defense contactor is gathering the data about you and your household. They performed the previous Canadian Census and the most current census in the UK, Ireland and the U.S.
Lockheed Martin is active in many aspects of government contracting. In the US it received $36 billion in government contracts in 2008 alone, more than any company in history. It now does work for more than two dozen government agencies from the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy to the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency. It’s involved in surveillance and information processing for the CIA, the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Pentagon, the Census Bureau, and the Postal Service. The company's 2010 lobbying expenditure by the third quarter was $9.9 million (2009 total: $13.7 million).
In 2009, 74% of Lockheed Martin's revenues came from military sales. It received 7.1% of the funds paid out by the Pentagon. Lockheed "ranks number one on the 'contractor misconduct' database maintained by the Project on Government Oversight, a Washington-DC-based watchdog group." Since 1995, the company has agreed to pay $577 million to settle fifty-four instances of misconduct.
In January 2011, Lockheed Martin agreed to pay the US Government $2 million to settle allegations that the company submitted false claims on a U.S. government contract for that amount. The allegations came from a contract with the Naval Oceanographic Office Major Shared Resource Center in Mississippi. On May 28, 2011 it was reported that a cyber-attack using previously stolen EMC files had broken through to sensitive materials at the contractor. It is unclear if the Lockheed incident is the specific prompt whereby on June 1, 2011, the new United States military strategy, makes explicit that a cyberattack is casus belli for a traditional act of war.
So does that mean if someone hacks into Census information held by the contractor that it could be grounds for war – in Canada or the United States?
After all we do have a free trade agreement.
Canadian Moosenomics: On July 16, 2010, the Harper gov't announced plans to acquire the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II as the country’s next-generation fighter aircraft. The F-35 will replace Canada’s fleet of CF-18 Hornets that entered service in the early 1980s. “We’re very pleased with the decision and are committed to supporting the Government of Canada in moving forward with the F-35,” said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and general manager of F-35 Program Integration. “The Lightning II will help ensure Canada’s national security, and also positions Canadian industry to immediately capture long-term work that will endure for the next 30 years.”
It's uncertain as to how much will be spent on the no-bid contract.
In Rut: Robert J. Stevens, a graduate of Slippery Rock University, is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lockheed Martin. In 2009, Stevens earned a total compensation of $20,473,451, which included a base salary of $1,834,615, a cash bonus of $9,146,000, stocks granted of $2,558,120, options granted of $6,564,800, and other compensation of $369,916.
The Monashee is
just oozing with
Mooseinformation, there so much of it that it’s a challenge to record it all on the pages of MVS because there’s only 48 hours in a day. But one of the best stories that we should all be paying attention to is the Wedgewood Embargo.
Apparently the embargo is a well greased boycott that the no-jail population has inflicted on Lumby village businesses as a protest against the village proposal to host the provincial jail. Mr. Wedgewood has written passionate letters and made speeches to counter the rude actions of a boycott or at the threat of one.
Lumby businesses have most certainly found their champion in Mr.Wedgewood he should be congratulated on his efforts as he strengthens the integrity of the business climate and retains the longstanding good working relationships between rural residents and village businesses. With Mr. Wedgewood as the gatekeeper we can be assured that a welcome mat will always be kept clean for all who enter the fair village of Lumby.
While I personally have not met anyone presently participating in the Wedgwood
Wedgewood Embargo on One Trick Ponies?
From the Lumby Valley Times
 | ||||
Embargo or any other boycott for that matter I will give the man the benefit of the doubt because everything else he says seems to support the present political and social climate that exists today. His letter posted above would most certainly make that point.
It oozes with a certain kind of truth, for sure.
Moosology:
The California Grape Boycott
There was a time when thousands of farm workers fell victim to the uncontrolled use of pesticides in vineyards and orchards. César Chávez a farmworker turned civil rights activist joined with Dolores Huerta and together they co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW).
Chavez had called for an international boycott on California table grapes in order to receive better working environments for Mexican migrant workers in grape fields full of pesticides. The odds of having an impact were insurmountable plus Chavez met with enormous resistance from corporate and government interests in the US. However, through his peaceful methods of protest and after five years of struggle, the farm workers finally won a contract with the major grape growers in California. After his death he became a major historical icon symbolizing support for workers and for grass roots community organizing where his slogan "Sí, se puede" (Spanish for "Yes, it is possible" or, roughly, "Yes, it can be done") has become a statement of inspiration. His birthday, March 31, has become César Chávez Day, a state holiday in three US states including California..
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Pot bunkers surprise
new residents
November 23, 2012
New homeowners in the Monashee are discovering strange property features that didn’t appear in their real estate listing.
Pot bunkers more commonly known as shipping containers are being discovered by new property owners. One such homeowner moving into a residence on Thomas Road in Cherryville discovered a bunker buried beneath one of his sheds.
“The large shipping container has obviously been used to grow marijuana and was inspected by police,” said Cpl Henry Proce, with the RCMP.
“This is the second such facility we’ve dealt with this year.”
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