Bits and Bites from Around the World > 11-ft crocodile bullies Bulla; Bear wrecks home in Vancouver suberb

 

Crocodile turned into local feast after it kills several pets in Australia community

By Sarah Do Couto  Global News

Posted June 14, 2024 10:16 am

 2 min read

It may be a dog-eat-dog world, but one remote Australian community has served just desserts to an infamous crocodile that was harassing locals and their pets.

The 3.63-metre-long saltwater crocodile was reported “stalking and lunging” at children and adults in the township of Bulla from the nearby Baines River, according to local authorities.

During its reign of terror, the croc claimed the lives of several beloved community dogs. It was often seen about 250 metres from nearby homes in the region.

As a result, the Northern Territory Police said they on Tuesday “removed a problem crocodile.” The removal came in the form of a fatal gunshot, supported by Indigenous elders, community members and federal Parks and Wildlife officials. The animal was then given to an Aboriginal tribe in Bulla, who prepared the crocodile for a traditional feast.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the meal consisted of crocodile tail soup, barbecued croc and meat wrapped in banana leaves to be cooked underground.

Remote police sergeant Andrew McBride said the meal left many people with “full bellies.”

McBride said crocodiles like this one have been spotted in new areas due to recent flooding in Australia’s Top End, the country’s tropical region in northern parts of the nation. Before the feast, officials hosted an “opportunistic crocodile safety session” with children in the community to give them an “up-close look at the dangers within our waterways.”

Northern Territory Police Commander Kylie Anderson said crocodiles pose a “significant risk” to the safety of locals near the Baines River.

“Thanks to the seamless collaboration between Parks and Wildlife, our remote police staff and local residents we were able to safely remove the large saltie and maintain the safety of the community,” he said. “There’s never a dull moment in remote policing.”

A spokesperson from the Department of Environment rangers, Parks and Water Security reminded locals only to swim in areas where there are designated permission signs.

The rural township of Bulla, Victoria reported a population of about 1,570 in 2023.

*There is another Bulla diagonally across Australia, near Melbourne. The Bulla in this story is in the Northern Territories.

The crocodile was killed about 700 km southwest of Darwin, near the West Australian border.

Caught on video: Bear damages home in Port Coquitlam, B.C.

By Darrian Matassa-Fung  Global News

Posted June 13, 2024 6:59 pm

 Updated June 14, 2024 7:47 am

 1 min read

A homeowner in Port Coquitlam, B.C., had quite the early morning on Thursday after an unwanted visitor was found in the home’s garage.

A black bear had somehow let itself into the garage, and was found pawing and biting its way out of an upper portion on the front of the garage through some wooden panels.

Coquitlam RCMP said it received a call for the bear around 6 a.m. from the homeowner.

Police arrived at the scene and opened a side door in the garage.

The bear then seized its opportunity and escaped through the open door.

1:04

Burke Mountain backyard bear swing

The home is located near Prairie Avenue and Coast Meridian Road, which is an area known to have bear activity.

“The amount of damage was pretty substantial,” Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Alexa Hodgins said.

“I believe the bear was in there for some time. But fortunately, nobody was injured. It didn’t appear that the bear was injured.”

In light of the encounter, the RCMP is reminding residents of bear safety tips to keep in mind.

The RCMP typically sees a spike in bear reports from early May through September as residents and visitors come in more frequent contact with the animals.

Police said to give bears plenty of area when seen in open spaces and to remove all attractants from outside homes.

Community members are encouraged to lock garage doors and all low-lying windows around the home.

If a bear poses an immediate threat to public safety, people are advised to call 911.

Corruption is Everywhere > Ex-PM Morrison's Secret Self-Appointments; Man with 9K income buy $11mn Mansion; Trump Org man sentenced

..

Former Australia PM Morrison faces calls to resign over secret self-appointments

By Clyde Hughes

Scott Morrison, Australia's PM from 2018 to last May, offered an apology on Tuesday and said the self-appointments were made only to use in case of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. File Photo by Lukas Coch/EPA-EFE

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is facing calls for him to resign from parliament after revelations that while in power he secretly appointed himself to five ministries, often without the knowledge of those running the departments.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that he's waiting for legal advice on what can be done now that Morrison is no longer in the leadership post, and how to prevent the same thing from happening again.

The unannounced self-appointments secretly gave Morrison final decision-making power in the ministries of health, finance, treasury, home affairs and industry.

Morrison, who was Australia's PM from 2018 to last May, offered an apology on Tuesday and said the self-appointments were made only to use in case of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These were extraordinary times and they required extraordinary measures to respond," Morrison said in a post to Facebook. "Our government's overriding objective was to save lives and livelihoods, which we achieved."

"To achieve this, we needed to ensure continuity of government and robust administrative arrangements to deal with the unexpected in what was a period of constant uncertainty during the nation's biggest crisis outside of wartime," he added.

Peter Dutton, head of Morrison's Liberal Party, has defended the former prime minister and accused of Albanese -- leader of the opposition Australian Labor Party -- of trying to score political points on the issue.

Karen Andrews, who was home affairs minister under Morrison, said that she was blindsided by the revelations and has called for his resignation. He represents the division of Cook in Australian Parliament.

"I had absolutely no knowledge and was not told by the [prime minister, the prime minister's office] nor the department secretary," Andrews said according to the Australian Broadcasting Corp. "This undermines the integrity of government. I think that Scott Morrison needs to resign, and he needs to leave parliament."

Tax agency obtains 'jeopardy order' for debt from

Downton Abbey-loving billionaire

Mingfei Zhao paid $11 million for iconic Vancouver mansion in same year

he declared income of $9K

Jason Proctor · 

CBC News · 

Posted: Aug 17, 2022 4:00 AM PT

Billionaire Mingfei Zhao spoke with the CBC in 2016 about his plans to restore an iconic Vancouver mansion to its former glory. The Canada Revenue Agency has applied for an order to seize money from the sale of the home. (Chris Corday/CBC)

Canada's tax agency has obtained an order to seize debts owed by a Chinese billionaire whose love of Downton Abbey inspired him to pay more than $11 million for an iconic Vancouver mansion in the same year he claimed income of just $9,424.

According to a federal court judgment issued last month, the Canada Revenue Agency sought the so-called "jeopardy order" to collect $770,710 against the future sale of Mingfei Zhao's home because the 64-year-old has left Canada and appears to be in the process of trying to sell the only asset he has left in this country.

The new 'Earl' of Shaughnessy breathes life into historic home

Zhao bought the 14,000-square foot Tudor-style property in 2014 to much fanfare, vowing to return the building to its original glory a century earlier when "the Rosemary" — named after the daughter of a liquor tycoon — was considered the grandest home ever built in Vancouver.

But according to the court documents, Zhao declared income of less than $10,000 in 2014 and $38,161 in 2015 — amounts CRA auditors concluded were "not sufficient" to support his purchase of real estate and monthly mortgage payments of $8,699.

"Lifestyle does not match reported income," a CRA auditor claimed in a lengthy affidavit obtained by the CBC.

The tax agency reassessed Zhao's income for the two years in question at a combined $1.28 million — levelling a claim against him for unpaid income tax, which has risen to more than $770,000 with interest and penalties.

'I was watching Downton Abbey at the time'

Zhao spoke with the CBC in 2016 about his plans for the Rosemary.

He described himself as a retired property developer from Beijing who made his first fortune in flax and grains before moving on to real estate. Zhao immigrated to Canada in September 2014, and his tax returns identify him as divorced.

The Rosemary, built in 1918, was named after the daughter of the liquor tycoon who built it.

New owner Mingfei Zhao bought the property for $11 million in 2014.

(Leonard Frank/Vancouver Public Library)

Zhao told CBC he was sinking millions into an upgrade of the 12-bedroom, 12-bathroom mansion, which features an arched bridge connecting the main building to a carriage house.

Speaking through a Mandarin translator, Zhao said he fell in love with the Rosemary at first sight.

"I liked it because I was watching Downton Abbey at the time," Zhao said.

The billionaire said he was determined to shatter the stereotype that people from China are serial destroyers of older properties: "I want to protect and recover this house to make it stand here another 100 years."

'He had started a new family in Europe'

Zhao has filed notices of objection to fight the tax penalty assessed by the CRA, which would normally mean that the agency would not be able to come for his money until after an appeal has been determined.

But the federal Income Tax Act allows the CRA to ask a judge to order payment when "the collection of all or any part of an amount assessed in respect of a taxpayer would be jeopardized by a delay in the collection of that amount."

The court file includes more than 2,000 pages of documents detailing attempts to nail down Zhao's bank account balances, his unreported worldwide income and his whereabouts.

At one point, he also owned another multi-million dollar home as well as a Bentley, a Rolls Royce, a Mercedes and a Range Rover. But as of last June, he was only registered as the owner of the Rosemary and the Range Rover.

Last month, records showed Zhao no longer had a Canadian cellphone account.

In March, the CRA also claimed to have "uncovered" a Globe and Mail article from nearly two years earlier "in which it stated that Mr. Zhao no longer lived in Vancouver and that he had started a new family in Europe."

'The optics don't look good'

The documents detail discussions between auditor Dale Gonwick and one of Zhao's legal representatives — who later advised that no one would appear for Zhao at the court hearing.

"I asked if there were any items he knew of that might help balance the 'not a Jeopardy' side of the equation, because from what I could see, I would have to refer this up the line as a danger of loss issue," Gonwick wrote.

The Rosemary was purchased for $11 million in 2014 and is now on sale for $19 million. It takes a fish-eye lens to properly capture the size of the property. (Chris Corday/CBC)

Zhao's representative pointed out that the Rosemary — now listed at $19 million — had been on the market for more than a year with no buyers but "admitted that 'the optics don't look good.'"

Judges have issued jeopardy orders in previous cases where large sums of cash have been found in the trunk of an automobile or in the pocket of a taxpayer's housecoat.

Federal Court Justice Cecily Strickland concluded that, while Zhao's "conduct of his affairs" may not fit with that kind of behaviour, his reported income raised questions given his lifestyle.

"Accordingly, the nature of the assessment raises a reasonable apprehension that Mr. Zhao had not been conducting his affairs in 'an orthodox fashion' and that it would be difficult to trace or recover the funds for the tax debt," she concluded.

Zhao could not be reached for comment.

Trump Organization official Allen Weisselberg pleads guilty

to tax fraud, grand larceny

CFO may be called to testify when the Trump Organization goes on trial

The Associated Press · 

Posted: Aug 18, 2022 11:21 AM ET 

The Trump Organization's former chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg arrives at court on Thursday in New York. Weisselberg pleaded guilty to charges that he accepted more than $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation from the

former president's company over several years, including untaxed perks like rent, car payments and school tuition.

(Yuki Iwamura/The Associated Press)

A top executive at former U.S. president Donald Trump's family business pleaded guilty Thursday to evading taxes in a deal that could potentially make him a star witness against the company at a fall trial.

Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 of the charges he faced in the case, which included charges of tax fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records. He was accused of dodging taxes on lavish fringe benefits he got from the company, including lease payments for a luxury car, rent for a Manhattan apartment and private school tuition for his grandchildren.

Seen as one of Trump's most loyal business associates, Weisselberg was arrested in July 2021. He is the only person to face criminal charges so far in the Manhattan district attorney's long-running investigation of the company's business practices.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan agreed to sentence Weisselberg, 75, to five months incarceration and five years probation at New York City's Rikers Island jail complex, although he will be eligible for release much earlier if he behaves well behind bars. The judge said Weisselberg will have to pay nearly $2 million US in taxes, penalties and interest. 

Weisselberg said nothing as he left court, offering no reply when a journalist asked him whether he had any message for Trump.

Weisselberg's lawyer, Nicholas Gravante Jr., said his client pleaded guilty "to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family."

"We are glad to have this behind him," the lawyer said.

50-year relationship with company

The plea bargain also requires Weisselberg to testify truthfully as a prosecution witness when the Trump Organization goes on trial in October on related charges. The company is accused of helping Weisselberg and other executives avoid income taxes by failing to accurately report their full compensation to the government.

Trump himself is not charged in the case.

Testimony by Weisselberg could potentially weaken the Trump Organization's defence. If convicted, the company could face fines or potentially be placed on probation and be forced to change certain business practices.

Reaction from the Manhattan DA:

Weisselberg's professional relationship with Trump and Trump's late father, Fred, dates back to 1973.

"Today Allen Weisselberg admitted in Court that he used his position at the Trump Organization to bilk taxpayers and enrich himself," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a lengthy statement.

"We look forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization," said Bragg.

Think Cannabis is Harmless? So Did I. But I Know Better Now

Opinion: In 2017, 567 people were treated at Vancouver-area

hospitals for cannabis overdoses or related mental issues.

I was one of them.

The emergency entrance at St. Paul's Hospital in Vancouver is seen in a file photo from June 24, 2009.

Ian Lindsay/Postmedia

By Jennifer Foden, National Post

Last year, shortly before cannabis was legalized, StarMetro Vancouver reported that in 2017, 567 people were admitted to emergency rooms at St. Paul’s, Vancouver General, Surrey Memorial and Kelowna General hospitals for cannabis overdoses or related mental and behavioural issues.

I was one of them.

This isn’t easy to write about. I’m well aware that this will be part of my story forever, for anyone to look up online. Still, people need to know the risks.

In mid-2017, on a typical Saturday night, two friends and I were cooking dinner. A friend offered me half a medical marijuana gummy. She took the other half. About 45 minutes later, I started to feel strange. It’s hard to explain how. I had had bad experiences with weed before. This felt similar; like I knew something very bad was about to happen.

People need to know the risks

I decided to go home. I, still, to this day, don’t know what actually happened that night and what didn’t. I was totally disconnected from reality. I was hallucinating, dreaming while awake. Welcome to a weed overdose, friends — a drug-induced psychosis.

I remember walking down the street, not being able to swallow. Falling down. Laying face-first on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver yelling at people driving and walking by that I was dying. I remember the paramedics kicking me out of the ambulance. I remember dead people being wheeled past me in the emergency room at St. Paul’s. But I’m not entirely sure if any of these things happened.

I didn’t know my name or who I was or where I was or what it even means to be human and have a body and a brain. I didn’t understand time or space, life or death. It was very metaphysical.

Recreational marijuana became legal in Canada on Oct. 17, 2018. Trevor Hagan/Bloomberg

My friend, who ate the other half of the gummy, showed up to hold my hand in the hospital. She was high, but fine. She wasn’t having an adverse reaction like I was.

I started feeling strange after that “bad trip.” Unlike before, my brain was filled with thoughts of suicide, death and existential questions. I attempted to push the thoughts out of my mind, assuming it was the after-effect of that little green drug.

Six weeks after that drug trip, I had nervous breakdown. I was sitting at my desk when suddenly, something felt different, something felt off. I felt uncomfortable in my body. My heart started racing. I began to think a lot about existence. I felt disconnected. Like my mind and my body had separated. Like I was living in an altered reality. I thought I was losing my mind, or perhaps I was dying. The worst part? I wanted to die.

The worst part? I wanted to die

   

I wound up in the emergency room and then a mental health facility. Further psychiatric assessment would tell me I was suffering from panic and residual drug-induced psychotic disorders. Later, I’d have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

It’s been almost a year and a half since the drug trip. I continue to suffer from panic attacks. And, every single day, I still feel disconnected, like my mind and my body have separated, like I’m living in an altered reality. Some days are worse than others.

For some reason, I feel compelled to clarify that up until this point — for over 30 years — I was mentally stable. I have the privilege of white skin, a middle-class upbringing, great friends, a university degree and a post-grad education, too. I’ve held staff editor jobs. I’ve freelanced successfully. There were no red flags for my mental health.

There were no red flags for my mental health

   

A recent report claimed that a bad drug trip can be a sign of mental illness — not as a cause, but as a trigger. I’ve spent a lot of the past year and a half feeling guilty. Like I caused my mental illness by eating that weed gummy. But how could I have known? I have smoked and eaten weed before, sometimes with adverse effects. But the end result has never been multiple mental illnesses: panic, post-traumatic stress and residual drug-induced psychotic disorders. Maybe it was the perfect storm: I ate the right amount of the right strain at a time when I was stressed, and therefore vulnerable to a breakdown.

This is not a pity party. I don’t want you to feel bad for me. I’m telling this story because I think it’s important for people to realize that although cannabis has a reputation as being safe and benign, that’s not always the case. As my psychiatrist likes to remind me: people’s minds and bodies are different, and have varying reactions to drugs, to alcohol, to stress.

I’m still going through the process of healing. For people who haven’t been through something similar: be careful. It’s been reported that the current endorsed guidelines to prevent mental illness risk from marijuana consumption is to use less, use lower levels of THC or abstain. But, talk to your friends. Share this story. So, I guess this article is a PSA: don’t be number 568.

— Originally from Toronto, Jennifer Foden is a freelance writer and editor living in Vancouver.

Jennifer appears to be in her 30s as she recovers from her nightmarish experience. I'm not convinced that you need a predilection toward mental illness to be triggered by cannabis. I am aware, especially of teenagers who have protracted severe schizophrenia and paranoia from using pot, and like Jennifer, had no indicators of mental illness whatsoever.

I hope Coastal and Fraser Health keep detailed records on people who end up in ERs because of cannabis related issues. We have much to learn about this insidious experiment that our Very Liberal government has hastily inflicted upon Canadian society.

More Fascinating Answers to Prayer

Last week, I shared a summary of the following story to a friend who was distressed about having to buy a car. Her wonderful response came by email a couple days ago, and follows the story, which is an excerpt from my still 'yet to be published' book. Hope you enjoy and share these testimonies.

See below for today's hero.

Vancouver's West End from across False Creek

How to Find a Used Car

Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want; Their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell. Nehemiah 9:21.

God provided water, meat, manna, whatever the Israelites needed while in the desert. Miraculously, their clothes did not wear out in 40 years, and none of them ever sprained an ankle, and He delivered them from their enemies.

When my career moved me to Vancouver again in 1995, we bought a house, in a very nice neighborhood, in Abbotsford, about 50 miles out into the Fraser Valley. You may remember hearing in the news, about the Abbotsford killer in the mid nineteen-nineties. He raped two young girls, killed one of them, then taunted the police for weeks until a family member recognized his voice and turned him in. He was the son of a policeman. 

It was an anxious time for all of Abbotsford, and we warned our children, who were in their early teens, and any visitors, that they could not go walking any further than the corner store and had to be back before dark. As it turned out, in walking to the corner store, they had to walk right past the killer’s house. He lived around the corner; about two blocks from us.

Remember the woman I visited with Pastor Mark, in the hospital, in Port Hardy? She and her husband were the previous residents of that same house. Weird, eh?

Vancouver, British Columbia, and the lower mainland

“Ye have not, because ye ask not.” James 4:2b

When I got to Vancouver, I went to see my brother at the transmission shop where he worked. I told him I was looking for a commuter car, and he suggested his co-worker’s VW Jetta. It had a recently rebuilt motor and was in great shape. I bought it. It served my commuting very well for about three years. 

It withstood being hit from behind three times, including once when I was about to park in front of my office, and the driver of the half ton behind me was half asleep. I watched him in the rear view mirror, knowing he was going to hit me hard. He hit me without even slowing down. I got the back-end fixed for the third time and then gave the car to my son. 

Needing a new car, I searched all over the B.C. lower mainland for something economical, sporty, and in my meager price range. I looked from Chilliwack to North Vancouver and could not find the right car, even though I had no real idea what the right car was. I just knew that I would know it when I saw it.

After weeks of frustration, and my wife asking me if I had prayed about it (which I hadn’t), I finally started talking to the Lord about it.

“Lord,” I said, one morning on the way to work, “I know that you already know what car I’m going to buy next, so instead of me chasing around all over British Columbia looking for it, why don’t you just bring it to me?” I can be awfully blunt sometimes, even to God. Honesty and sincerity are essentials in prayer, I think.

Immediately after I got to the office, and after the customary, "Good morning, Houston", from my staff, the phone rang, and it’s a young lady on whose answering machine I had left a message the night before inquiring about the car she had for sale. She described the Nissan Pulsar, and the price, and told me that she had to buy a new car to keep within a new vehicle reimbursement policy at the newspaper she worked for.

It sounded perfect. I asked when and where I could see it. She asked, “Where do you work?”

“Airport Square,” I replied, “Do you know where that is?”

Airport Square, Vancouver. My office door
was just above the car on the right, in the
mezzanine

“Oh yes,” she answered, “I’ll be driving past it in a couple minutes. Do you have time to look at it now?”

“Yes, of course,” I replied, stunned at the remarkable answer to prayer that was about to take place. Sometimes I am certain that the Lord thinks it's very funny to answer my most absurd prayers.

A couple of minutes later, I walked outside my office door, and she pulled up right in front of me. We went for a short test drive, and I bought the car; how could I not?

It was a beautiful, little, white sports-car with a hard roof that could be removed in about a minute. It worked great, was easy on gas, very comfortable, a lot of fun, and a remarkable answer to prayer.

As mentioned above, I related this story to a friend and a few days later got this wonderful response:

Hi Gary,

I want to thank you for your timely encouragement. I really hate car shopping but with all of my daughter's, and now my appointments, it is difficult not to have one. 

Jeannie's daughter suffers from a debilitating and dangerous illness, and now, Jeannie, herself has been physically injured in the car accident that totaled her car, which has served to dramatically increase an existing anxiety disorder.

I had been looking on line for vehicles that were in my price range, low mileage.  I wanted a car like the one that got wrecked because it would have the features I wanted and could afford. 

I wasn’t up to getting my rental car until Monday and was really pleased when they gave me a car similar to my old one to use, however, right away I noticed that they changed the body style which created a lot of blind spots and I was really afraid to use it. So I started looking on-line for older models but after much searching I became very discouraged. 

ICBC paid me out and my rental was up on Thursday when I returned the car and thought I would just try to figure out taxi’s for a few weeks until I felt up to it more and wished, like you did, that God would just bring me a car.

Then on Friday a car looking very much like my old one pulled into my parking spot and my sister got out and told me this story. 

My sister is a very caring person who loves the Lord. She lives in Chilliwack and had been praying God would provide the right car for me. She was driving around that day when she felt there was a voice telling her to turn down a road, it was very strong and persistent so she did and there she saw a car dealership. She went in and told them that I was looking for a used car and they directed her to another dealer just down the street. 

When she drove up there were a number of salesmen standing in front but she saw this one woman and felt that is who she had to speak to. She told her my story, that I needed something low mileage, what ICBC had given me and that I could only afford to spend a couple thousand more. She said this woman was really touched and wanted to help so she spent about a half an hour on the phone trying to find something but came back and said she couldn’t find anything.

Then she suddenly remembered that a car had just come in that morning on a trade in. She thought it would be perfect and so did my sister but there was a lot of other interest in it and it was for a lot more money. She went and talked to the owner of the dealership and was gone for a long time. When she came back she had gotten several thousand dollars knocked off the price and told my sister she could hold it for me if she put a deposit on it. My sister agreed and as they were writing up the deposit someone else came in with a check for the full price so they told him it was sold. She also told my sister to drive it to me to try out but if I didn’t want it she would get her deposit back.

I was still very skeptical as it was a car I had never even looked at or knew anything about. When I saw the car my first thought was “Oh no, what have you done” and when she told me the story I worried about how I was going to tell her this is not the right car. 

I told her I was afraid to drive so she said that she would drive it for me, but I said no, I could not possibly buy a car that I hadn’t test driven. We checked over the features and it had almost everything I had been looking for and much better visibility than my old car. I asked my daughter to pray and we took it for a drive. 

I thought I would only go around the block but the more I drove it the more comfortable and safe I felt and I even took it out on the highway. I was still skeptical though, and am not an impulse buyer, but your story kept going through my head, so I called my mechanic and asked about the car he said they were great but recommended I bring it in to be checked. I said that sounded good but I was sure he couldn’t fit me in today. To my surprise he said that he could in about an hour, which meant we could still get it back to the dealer before the 6pm deadline. 

The mechanic's report came back saying it was in excellent condition. So we drove back to Chilliwack, I bought it and drove it home. Now I own a lovely car, 6 years newer than my old one, with low mileage and I got it for less than I thought I would ever find something for. 

God is really amazing, and I am so thankful for your timely words of encouragement because they stopped me from immediately saying no and not even trying the car out.

Blessings,

Jeannie

God is amazing! When He answered my prayer, I suspect it was partly just to show me that nothing was too trivial to pray about. When He answered Jeannie's prayer, He not only provided her with an excellent car at a very reasonable price, but he saved her some considerable stress and anxiety which was the last thing she needed. He also showed her that He is with her an all her struggles.

God, bless Jeannie's sister for listening to Your voice and having the courage to do what she did. She's my hero for today!

More 'Answered Prayer' stories can be found here. Or, you can wait for me to finish my book, but I wouldn't hold my breath while waiting.

RCMP Officer Guilty of Perjury at Inquiry into Death of Polish Immigrant

Const. Kwesi Millington

Const. Kwesi Millington, the RCMP officer who fired a Taser the night Robert Dziekanski died eight years ago at the Vancouver Int'l airport, British Columbia, Canada, has been found guilty of perjury and colluding with his fellow officers before testifying at the inquiry into the Polish immigrant's death. 

A B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled today that Millington "patently" lied at the Braidwood inquiry into the fatal confrontation at Vancouver International Airport in 2007.

Millington fired his Taser multiple times after he and three other officers were summoned over calls that Dziekanski, who spoke no English, had been throwing furniture in the international terminal.

Each of the officers was compelled to explain his actions at the inquiry and all four were later charged with perjury. Millington was accused of lying 10 times at the inquiry, including about whether he thought Dziekanski was standing or on the ground after the first shock from the Taser.

Judge William Ehrcke said it was "preposterous" that the Mountie claimed Dziekanski was standing while he was stunned a second time, when it's clear from bystander video that Dziekanski was already on the ground.

"The Crown has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Const. Millington gave oral evidence under oath which he knew at the time to be false, and he did so with the intention to mislead the inquiry," Ehrcke said Friday as Millington listened from the prisoner's dock.

Dziekanski's mother, Zofia Cisowski, sat quietly in the public gallery as the judge read the verdict.

Perjury charges were laid against Const. Gerry Rundel, Const. Bill Bentley,
Cpl. Monty Robinson and Const. Kwesi Millington, clockwise from top left
in connection with their testimony at the Braidwood inquiry

​Millington's verdict marks the first time a judge has concluded that one of the officers in the Dziekanksi affair lied. It's also the first time a judge has agreed with the prosecutors who argued that Millington and his fellow officers conspired to lie and exaggerate the threat Dziekanksi posed in order to justify their use of force.

One of the other officers charged with perjury, Const. Bill Bentley, was acquitted of perjury in 2013, but the Crown is appealing that verdict.

A witness connected to Bentley testified at Millington's trial and said officers met at her home. But the defence presented telephone records, credit card receipts and other evidence to portray her testimony as unreliable and motivated by acrimony.

However, Ehrcke concluded the officers must have spoken to each other before providing statements to homicide investigators.

"This the only rational inference available," he said.

Millington testified at his trial that he made mistakes in describing what happened, but insisted they were the product of a fast-moving and traumatic situation.

His lawyer argued the officer had no reason to lie, because the moment Dziekanski picked up a stapler, it became a weapon that justified the use of force.

Former corporal Benjamin (Monty) Robinson is awaiting a verdict and Const. Gerry Rundel's trial, which proceeded in another courtroom on Friday, is almost finished.

Millington has remained on duty with the RCMP, but has been sidelined from regular duties. His next court appearance will be on March 19.

Criminal Justice Branch spokesman Neil MacKenzie said the special prosecutor will decide whether to ask for jail time. He also said it's unclear what effect the Millington conviction will have on Bentley's appeal.

"I had always hoped … I could jump to the sky," said Cisowski after the verdict was handed down.

She said it was the first time she has been happy since her son died.

"I am pleased to hear the judge found him guilty of six of the 10 perjury charges. Even with six, I am not satisfied, but it's better than nothing."

She added she would like to see Millington end up in jail, because "they killed" her son, even though Millington was only found guilty of perjury.

"I am very concerned because they didn't find criminal charge for killing Robert," she said.

She now lives in Kamloops, B.C., where Dziekanski had planned to move after immigrating to Canada.