Colby Cosh: No thief, no cops, no lawyers, no problem

Colby Cosh: No thief, no cops, no lawyers, no problem - 04/03/09:

So pay attention, thieves: Only in Alberta are homeowners armed, and ready to shoot straight. Only in Alberta will you find a whole community closing in on you if you try to steal the equipment of a family business. Only in Alberta are we not content to sit quietly and wait for the police to arrive and copy serial numbers. You are much safer plying your trade elsewhere. Preferably in one of those places where the nice people would think it barbaric to shoot you.

This is not vigilantism, though some semi-literate reporters have reserved desk space in Hell by using that term. A vigilante would have fed a thief to the pigs, or dressed him in chains and cinder blocks and taken him for a swim in Buffalo Lake. No cops, no lawyers, no problem

Facebook Group - Support for Brian Knight

Yesterday I recieved an email from a friend who lives in Tees informing me of a trust fund being set up to help assist Brian Knights legal fees.

Any who want to contribute to help pay for Brian Knights lawyer fees go to http://www.brianknightlegalfund.com/. I would like to clarify the media’s report when they say he fired at him. He did not he fired 2 shells in the air to scare they guy and some of the shot gun shell came down and hit the guy in the shoulder not hardly making it bleed. I personally think if he is convicted it sends the wrong message to all the guys in the community and across Canada that they can do this with not much reaction from farmers or local people. His lawyer told him the fees wil be $500hr plus travel from Calgary. Brian is dad of three young kids and has never been charged with anything before.

I forwarded the email to many people in my address book, including Paul Hinman, leader of the Wildrose Alliance a political party in the Province of Alberta. This was his response.

Thanks for the email. We are truly on the slippery slope and losing our freedom and security to thugs in the dark and our legal system is failing to protect Albertans. To bad we do not have a justice system.

One may also want to start a petition to submit to the Honourable Fred Lindsey our Solicitor General as well as the Honourable Alison Redford our Legal (Justice) Minister and ask for the charges to be dropped. I am sure they will not do it but it gives one the right to say they could have done the right thing.

We need to put the safety of our citizens ahead of the
so called rights of the perpetrator.

Many Thanks

Paul Hinman
F-MLA
Leader Wildrose Alliance

I took Mr Hinman's advice & sent an email to the legal fund website & they have already started the process of building a petition, although it is not on the website yet.

There is someone that has mentioned a petition and is looking at it. Keep posted to the site, we hope to have it here if and when it is set up. Thank for your support.

After reading comments on this story from many Alberta media outlets, I have started a facebook group to discuss & rally support for Mr Knight.

Suncor boss sees sunny outlook

Rick George, Suncor boss sees sunny outlook: "While acknowledging that it was hard to read a newspaper without finding a fresh attack on the producers of dirty oil, George went on to outline Suncor's commitment to the environment, and that sustainability has been a cornerstone of the company's operating philosophy since he took the reins 18 years ago.

'We were the first to come out with a climate change action plan,' he said, while adding that it wasn't something that investors --at the time--truly understood the importance of.

'People wondered what this had to do with adding shareholder value. But environmental stewardship is just as important as economic performance."

"We save money when we do what's right for the environment and that's good for our balance sheet," pointing to the 38 per cent reduction in carbon emissions that has been achieved by the industry. With the environment squarely on the table, George made quick work of a number of myths the oilsands operators are having trouble shaking off.

His key points in this regard were that the oilsands generates one-tenth of one per cent of the global carbon emissions, that if it was shut down entirely, it would make no difference on the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and that the area of so-called disturbance is not equal to the size of Florida.

"The total footprint of the oilsands is about 500 square kilometres, about the size of four Disney worlds," he said

Red Deer Advocate - Friends setting up legal fund for Alberta man charged with vigilante justice

Red Deer Advocate - Friends setting up legal fund for Alberta man charged with vigilante justice:

"Sgt. Jim Lank says the man then got out of the car and fired two shots at the alleged thief.
Knight’s friend Vern Ferguson says he would have done the same thing.

“I don’t agree that somebody can come in, take your stuff and you can’t do anything about it,” said Ferguson. Ferguson and several people in the community are starting a legal defence fund for Knight.
Lank says he understands the frustration some people may have, but wants to discourage citizens from taking matter into their own hands.

“These are some serious charges that could have ended up in a fatality as well,” said Lank.

Knight’s first court appearance is set for April 9."

Guess I won't need these anymore...

Thanks for NOTHING!!!

I truly hope this thing get torn down then built back up again. Yesterday when the Oilers were pleading for fans to get loud during the games was ridiculous. Oilers fans are smart enough to know when we should cheer, why should the fans show this team any support? It has been the same thing ALL fucking year. Inconsistancy & a lack of heart with some questionable coaching decisions such as:

• Goaltending - we got rid of our third goalie (Garon) & the rookie never got to play anyhow. Roli was getting tired & couldn't get a game off
• Calling out players - alienating them
• The "MacBlender" - no chemistry between players when always playing with different players

I am really pissed off...

Self-defence still an inalienable right

Self-defence still an inalienable right

Lorne Gunter - Edmonton Journal - March 29, 2009

"Which brings me to Brian Knight, the 38-year-old central Alberta farmer who was charged by police Friday for vigorously defending his property.

Police claim Knight witnessed his 4x4 all-terrain vehicle being stolen from his property far from any police station. He chased the thief off his land, rammed him into a ditch, shot him as he tried to escape and organized a posse to track him down and bring him in to police. Knight is charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm, assault and dangerous driving.

Knight's actions might seem a bit excessive just to keep a thief from taking an ATV. But it's not the ATV, it's the principle."