Friday, December 07, 2012

3 stories in 24 hours show us just how badly broken our justice system really is if you are a biker/rider.

Last night we received word that Tracy Dawn Smith, who killed motorcyclist Janarthan Mehanthiran, lovingly known as Jana, would spend one day in jail, 3 years under probation, do 200 hours of community service work and be banned from driving ban for ten years.

According to the article Tracy Dawn Smith has the cognitive functions of a nine year old

Begin Quote: Higinbotham also took into account that Smith was assessed to have the cognitive functions of a nine-year-old and has had a life filled with both physical and sexual abuse during her childhood, and then later in life, with rampant addiction and mental health problems. End Quote

First question - how did she get a drivers license to begin with?

Second question - how does someone with the cognitive functions of a nine year old come to drive a Lexus?

Third question - how can this sentence be so light when this woman was already under a ban?

Begin Quote: Smith is already under a number of bail conditions linked to an assault charge from April 9, including not possessing or consuming alcohol. End Quote

Fourth question - what message does this sentence send others who drive impaired?

Where is the justice in this for Jana? For his family? And what about the rest of the people who share the highway? 

So much for impaired driving laws meaning anything.

And then we have the travesty of what the government of our country is doing to the Hells Angels.
Whether you believe they are a criminal organization or not is totally besides the point here.
The fact of the matter is that people with no criminal record are being deported from Canada because they are members of the club.

In an article in the National Post today we learn that "Alejandro Mariano Chung, 43, a citizen of Chile who came to Canada in 1979 but never obtained Canadian citizenship, is the latest man tied to the world’s largest and most notorious biker gang to be deported for his involvement with the bikers."

Begin Quote: Almost all of the members of the Manitoba chapter have criminal records, mostly convictions for drug trafficking, their primary criminal activity, police said. In Ontario, 67.2% of Hells Angels members had a criminal conviction, 43% drug-related, police said.

“The business of the Hells Angels is crime,” the IRB ruled. “From the organization’s point of view it would make no sense to invest time in bringing Mr. Chung up through the ranks unless he was going to be part of their criminal activity.”

The IRB declared the Hells Angels a criminal organization and Mr. Chung — despite only being a prospect — as a member. Membership in a criminal organization is grounds for inadmissibility to Canada under the immigration act.

He was deported last month but has filed an appeal with the Federal Court of Canada, seeking to return.

The government is increasingly using immigration law, where the burden of proof is lower than in criminal court, to target the Hells Angels. End Quote

I guess that since the police services are unable to do their jobs and make charges stick against these "criminal gang members" and the courts in this country obviously have problems (long wait times, not enough judges and in my humble opinion judges with questionable thinking skills) that this is the only way they can get rid of what they deem to be a criminal element.

Then let's look at another story - this one again from the National Post about an American rider who made a mistake.  

This rider who is going on a 12,000 mile trip - a 26 year old college student named Kraig Jacobson is detained in Canada for 4 months because he had brought a pistol with him and didn't declare it at the border.

According to the article, "My brother and I decided to go on a 12,000-mile road trip on our motorcycles and also raise money for the [American Cancer Society’s] Relay for Life. We were going to be camping a lot, so a friend suggested I bring my pistol for protection against wild animals."

Begin Quote: 
Q What happened after you were taken into custody at Niagara’s Rainbow Bridge border crossing?
A We had heard Niagara Falls had a better view on the Canadian side and we were just going over the border for 20 minutes to take a look. I’m very nervous around authority figures and when the guard asked me if I had a weapon I panicked, thinking I was going to get in trouble, so I said, “No.” He waved me over to another officer, who again asked me if I had any weapons. I said, “Yes,” thinking they would give me a second chance — but they did not.

Q You spent 18 days in detention before being released to live with friends while your case was resolved. While incarcerated were you, as the stereotype goes, treated politely?
A Yeah, I hear that compared to the U.S. it’s not bad at all. But you still have to make sure you’re not stepping on other people’s toes. I saw fights in there, mostly over really dumb stuff like a guy who got punched in the face over a sticky bun.


Q How did you wrap up the case and get home?
A My lawyer advised we should plead guilty and argue the sentence down, but it still took 3½ months before I was finally released. I had to pay $1,000 to get my bike out of seizure and drove it out of Ontario, but then it got really cold, Hurricane Sandy hit and then it snowed on me in Pennsylvania. I had to leave the bike in Cleveland and take a flight home. End Quote

So there you have it folks - Three articles within 24 hours that show you just how badly broken things are in the justice system in this country.

What do these three stories show me?

Well, making a mistake as a visitor to this country is gonna cost you dearly - in the case of Kraig Jacobson - 18 days in jail, $20,000 in costs and being detained in this country for almost 4 months and a ban from ever entering our country again.

In the case of being a Hells Angel - you get deported if you are not a citizen and can be denied entrance in this country regardless of the fact that you have no criminal record, because you are a club member.

But when you kill someone, if you have a sad enough story you can literally get away with murder.

Is it just me? Am I the only one who thinks that things need to be fixed in the justice system?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

There is a lot of stuff in the feeds today that might affect your day or life as a rider, I encourage you to visit our web site www.beltdrivebetty.com where our work is keeping You informed.

I want to remind everyone that the Gift of Jobs for Christmas SOA art auction begins today. 9 fabulous piece of art up for grabs.....the proceeds will be going to the employees of Mountain Man Services in Lake Cowichan BC on Vancouver Island - they lost all of their work gear in a fire and the owner was uninsured (insurance in BC is worth your new born - another topic that drives me around the bend - but that;s a discussion for another day).


I leave you with a few funnies, shared with me by friends on Facebook and through emails - I really need to find the humour in the day...







Try to have a fabulous weekend everyone.
Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Canadian Riding Clubs & Events - A christmas offer we hope you can't turn down!


How can working with Belt Drive Betty Media help your riding club or events?

We here at Belt Drive Betty Media are riders, just like you.
We believe in the ride, the community and the sense of family riding brings.


We are a multi media company that can offer you a ton of ways to share information with other riders about your group, your events, your ride nights, your community and your membership.


Our NATIONAL Events Calendars are available on our web site, in a mobile format, in an App and are HIGHLY shareable.  We also print the events listings in our newspaper in March, April and into May!


They are broken down by province and type of event! Download Link: http://m.magmito.com/105563/mctravel

     













Our weekly community newspaper, the Busted Knuckle Chronicles is a place for the riding community to share its stories; it’s triumphs and heartaches – a place to celebrate being a rider and that entails.

Our newspaper goes out in a newsletter every Thursday morning; the paper is produced 48 times a year and the newsletter – 52 weeks a year! You only get one email a week from us. Our goal is to provide all the info we can in one email.

We accept submissions from riding clubs and offer you a free place to get your message out to the larger riding community.   

The featured stories from the paper go live on our web site every week and NOW those stories go to an App!



  This App is being released late December 2012

Belt Drive Betty dot Com is the place to tell the rest of Canada what you are up to, why they should join you or look you up when they come through your community. 

Our website, www.beltdrivebetty.com is enjoying an average of 2 million page views per month, 78,000 Unique visitors and 191,000 visits per month

Remember on Facebook you can only share inside of Facebook, but from our web site you can share into Facebook, hence why having a membership on our site and sharing stuff you have posted on our web site just makes sense! You build your audience by networking, combining our audience with yours! BUT - IF YOU ARE Overwhelmed by technology, confused by too many apps and tools - We've got your back!  You can ALWAYS simply email your event information, stories, etc to  events@beltdrivebetty.com  We'll make sure it gets to the right place. 


Our web site and newspaper are a free place to share your stories about special volunteers, rides and events and I would encourage you to send your articles in to us!  We can help spread the information!

Or better yet, become a member and submit them through our site and take advantage of all of the other tools we offer like free classified ads, member only contests, The Road Trips Rewards™ Card, The Rider Friendly Phone Book, the Canadian Riders Support Network, The Never Ride Alone Program and More!

This App is being released late December 2012

We are here to serve you, and help you grow your local events and community through the sharing and networking tools that are integrated in our web site.

Our services are free - all except the newspaper's subscription fee which is $20/year.
BUT...If your executive feels our offerings have benefit your group, let me know by email (bdbetty @ gmail.com fix the spaces)and then add our banner or a link to your site or Facebook page.

Then tell your members to register on www.beltdrivebetty.com - in the PROMO CODE AREA they should use: Riding Clubs and make sure they tell us what club they are with – once we have verified our banner/link on your site - as our way of  truly being a sponsor...

EVERY RIDER who signs up on our site from your club will get the community newspaper and have benefit of all of the features of our site! FOR FREE - we won't charge you for the newspaper subscription - it's our Christmas present to our community. 

We'll even sponsor free subscriptions as door prizes or goodie bag for your events, just email me to discuss getting you the subscription cards for handing out! 

Oh and don’t forget the Road Trip Rewards Card is good for special services and offerings at over 250 Canadian Businesses! The virtual card is located on everyone's unique profile page and the can either load it into their smart phone by snapping a picture of it or print it off. They can also come to some of the different events we are at and get hard plastic cards!
Here are our banners -  we'd love to be networked with you!





If you are a Facebook based group you can connect with us and take advantage of our network there...and on our web site. When you give us permission to help you we will make sure your stuff gets out to the rest of our network whenever possible - but it is super appreciated when you also add your stuff to our web site and it's so easy to to!


Specialty Pages:

Canadian Motorcycle Events - All of the events that get added to our calendars on www.beltdrivebetty.com are pushed to this Facebook Page


Bikers United in Remembrance - Our Support Our Troops Page on Facebook

Rider Down - Find out information on who crashed and where

We can also be followed on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and YouTube!

And don't forget my National Conga is coming up - I will be riding from the Yukon to Newfoundland and filming for a new Travel and Tourism show on Eastlink Cable and Video on Demand called Ride Like a Local as well as my own YouTube Chanel - BDB TV!

We have the ways and means to help spread the word about your riding club and it's events...let us know if we can be of service!

I leave you with a few funnies shared with me by friends on Facebook and by emails, laughter makes everything better.




Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider

Monday, December 03, 2012

Hells Angels Toronto gets an early Christmas present

An article in the Star today brings word that the Hells Angels of Toronto will be getting their jewellery, vests and all of their paraphernalia back from the raid that took place n 2007.

Begin Quote: The Crown had argued that all items with the distinctive winged skull emblem were “offence-related property” with the power to intimidate.

In her ruling, Judge Maureen Forestell noted that the bikers don’t need special jewelry or clothing in order to commit crimes.

To the contrary, there’s a club rule that calls upon members to doff club emblems when breaking the law, the judge wrote. End Quote

The Toronto Hells Angels were found not guilty of being involved in a criminal organization and this judge seems to be of the frame of mind that clothing does not make you commit a crime - Huh - I have been saying that for years. It is your conduct as an individual that determine if your actions are criminal or not.

The decision is being hailed as an important one.

Begin Quote: Craig Bottomley, who represented the bikers, hailed the decision as an important one for the bikers and anyone else interested in property rights.

“This was an important win for the club and it serves to reinforce the verdict delivered by the jury, that the Hells Angels are not a criminal organization,” Bottomley said. “The court delivered a message in this case: emblems and symbols cannot be inherently criminal and the government must tie property directly to specific offences before it can take that property from citizens. End Quote

It is interesting to note that this same judge ordered that the clubhouse must be forfeited to the crown.

Begin Quote: While the bikers get back their vests and jewelry, the clubhouse itself was found to be offence-related property, providing a safe haven for illegal activity. End Quote

What are your thoughts on this subject?

Does what you wear and any intimidation factor your garb may cause, make you a criminal or is it the way YOU behave - your actions?

I am being facetious here, but seriously, when is the last time a balaclava stole money from a bank without something being inside the balaclava - AKA a human being. 

That brings me to my next train of thought form this article.

Perhaps now we will see a change in the "No Illegal Outlaw Motorcycle Club Colours" rule the RCMP and other police forces along with the liquor boards push for.

And again - this is something I want your feedback on. 

My personal feelings are that the ban on colours at public events hurts the greater community.

To my way of thinking, by the very fact that you see people's colours when you are at an event gives you the individual a certain safety and freedom.  If 3-4 guys are wearing the colours of a group that you'd rather not associate with - well guess what - you have the freedom and the knowledge to make the choice that is right for you because you can clearly see the affiliation. 

That can be said of any group wearing a patch - not just the Three Piece with a Diamond!

The police will repeatedly tell event coordinators that they will not support an event that allows the wearing of "Illegal Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Colours" because they will not be seen to be supporting "those people".

The liquor boards will tell you that the wearing of any garb touting"gang" affiliation can cause fights and violent altercations, in licensed establishments like bars and beer gardens, when rivals know their "enemy" is present. 

So my question on this aspect of today's topic is this:  
Do you support  the ban on wearing colours at public events or in bars?
If so, why.
If not - why...
I am curious about the sentiments of every faction of our community, so talk to me....

The feeds are relatively quiet so far today, but there was a lot of news that came in over the weekend.
Check it all out at www.beltdrivebetty.com where our work is keeping You informed!

We have a few very special announcements to make:


 You can see the prints for the auction by visiting www.markmullenart.com


If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of our show 'n' shine, drop me a line:
bdbetty @ gmail.com (fix the spaces)

We are also working on the 2013 Black Book and want to expand the Canadian Riders Support Network.
To that end we are offering anyone who signs up as a Canadian Rider Support Team Member a Free subscription to the Busted Knuckle Chronicles - Canada's ONLY weekly newspaper for riders!

We bring you the BEST in rider support tools!

Our sponsor Intercon Messaging provides our members with the BDB Club Rider Support Hotline and the Never Ride Alone Program.

The BDB Club Rider Support Hotline is accessible from Canada and the Continental US and will help you access the members of the Canadian Riders Support Program, Rider Friendly Business Association Members (by putting you in touch with either Ali or myself) and Intercon Messaging is a certified 911 Dispatch Centre that administers the Never Ride Alone Program.

Membership on our web site is free as are these resources!

I leave you with a few funnies shared with me by friends from Face Book and by Email:


Have a fabulous Monday,
Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider