March 3rd marks a day for somber remembrance. It’s a day that four young men died while in service for their country. One of them, Peter Schiemann, was a personal friend to all here at SomethingTV and that black day was one of the worst days of our lives. Peter, an RCMP officer, was a great man who loved to serve and he defended this county’s laws and its people with a quiet fierceness. He died standing up against corruption and crime and we must never forget the ultimate sacrifice he made for us. (Please refer to the RCMP Veteran’s page to get a brief background of Peter and the circumstances related to the Mayerthorpe shootings - http://www.rcmpvets.com/Honour/schiemann.htm )

Now that I have calmly paid my respects I must shout out my indignation to all those that haven’t got a clue and seem content to wallow in their ignorance. That’s pretty harsh to say - but I mean it. These sentiments of mine started when I happened upon CBC Radio’s ‘The Point’ which is a daily program that discusses the hot topics of the day (official website here - http://www.cbc.ca/thepoint/MT/2009/02/feb_23_rcmp_image_apostrophe_n.html ). The date was Feb 23, 2009 and the first topic discussed was “RCMP: Do they have an image problem?” As I was a friend of Peter’s, a past member, a friend with Craig, a currently serving member, and a brother to Chrissy, a soon to be recruit, I was quite interested to hear what the panel members’ had to say. Boiled down, it was the opinion of panelist Heather Mallick, journalist & author, that the RCMP were “nothing more than well dressed thugs”. She seemed to think that the RCMP were corrupt and out of control. [I must note here, that I am in 100% support of checks and balances. Accountability is crucial to any kind of public service if justice is to be served and if we, the public, think that the RCMP needs more of that then I will never stand in the way of such progress.] Yet, to state that the entire organization is corrupt, out of control and thuggish… well to be honest it screams ignorance to me and it got under my skin - especially since it came so close to the Mayerthorpe anniversary. I tried to let it go, to dismiss those crass remarks but they kept ringing around my head.

The final straw came when I went to watch a very nice memorial vid on Youtube (found here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8eecugcJo4 ). The video was awesome but then I went to check out the comments; read them if you will, not all of them are bad, but some of them made me so angry that I almost punched my computer screen and I won’t repeat them here. I could stand by no longer. You want corrupt?? You want out of controll?? You want fear, maljustice, rampant lawlessness?? Try talking to people that have lived in other countries around the world and have experienced real thugs who call themselves police. My own wife tells stories of how the Mexican Police will use any force necessary to get what they want whether it simply be a beating or even worse. She goes on to describe her fellow Mexican’s as having no hope for justice, no confidence in the law, and a fear of those that are meant to protect. “They know that they can do anything that they want because the government has no power to enforce the rules. You know the difference between Canada and Mexico? You are in the glory!”

We are in the glory! Most of us have zero concept of what it is like to live in a place where law enforcement has no accountability what-so-ever. Most of us don’t have a clue as to how good we really have it. We are so fortunate and so blessed that we have become complacent; ignorant of reality. Here’s a dose of that reality from around the globe found in recent news stories. Read them closely and then share them with others so that perhaps we as a society can start appreciating the ultimate sacrifices that have been made by real, bona-fide heroes like Peter Schiemann.

- 1000 of Bangladesh’s Border Security Force mutinied over pay issues killing up to 140 officers and approximately 20 civilians, and are also being charged “… with arson and looting of officers’ houses, there are also unconfirmed reports of rape and murder of officers’ family members” (here - http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1882554,00.html ) with photos of the mass funeral (here - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7919143.stm )

- In India police have “stormed into the compound of the Madras High Court on Feb. 19, destroying vehicles and assaulting lawyers, their clients, onlookers, court staff and even a judge. They also marched into the courtrooms and offices inside the court building and attacked people.” and have also been accused of being “actively engaged in human trafficking” (both found here http://www.upiasia.com/Human_Rights/2009/03/02/will_police_pay_for_attacking_court/5847/ )

- Racism dominates in some London police stations where “PCSO Peter Campbell said an inspector at the station drew up a hit list of black officers to be got rid of, and shared the list with white officers.”  “A senior officer was overheard complaining about ‘fucking foreigners’” and it is alleged that “homeless people sleeping in the street were kicked in the stomach, and smuggled goods were traded in the station.” (here - http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/02/police-race-tribunal-london-met )

- Guinea-Bissau has earned the “distinction of becoming Africa’s first narco-state.” because “the army, navy, police and President Vieira’s government itself were all penetrated at the highest levels.” “Taking advantage of corrupt police forces and almost totally unguarded airspaces and coastlines, the drug rings have transformed West Africa into the crucial staging post for smuggling South American cocaine to Europe” (here - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/guineabissau/4928379/Analysis-Guinea-Bissaus-links-to-drugs-trade.html)

- Chinese police officials have been charged with crimes “including corruption, selling visas to Hong Kong, taking money from owners of brothels and gambling public money in Macau”. Reporting these crimes in the media just isn’t safe to do either as this newspaper editor died “of complications from being attacked by 50 policemen last October after his paper accused them of charging illegal bicycle fees” (here - http://asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1716&Itemid=206 )

- US soldiers aren’t even safe against Iraqi police: “A local police source said two Iraqi policemen opened fire on U.S. soldiers in the city, killing four of them and an Iraqi interpreter, before they fled.” (here - http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/25/content_10892544.htm )

- Burmese police “signaled their determination to crush the pro-democracy movement by firing into crowds with automatic weapons and giving demonstrators 10 minutes to clear the streets or be shot.” At least nine were killed. (here - http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/261474 )

- The Police force in Mexico is ran and opperated through bribery. Money is the governing factor there going from the street cops as seen on this spanish video (here [money exchange seen near end of vid] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqYuI3w0cdI&feature=related ) all the way up to its top anti-drug officals; “Noe Ramirez is accused of accepting bribes of up to $500,000 from the Sinaloa cartel to warn the group’s leaders of police operations against them, the Mexican attorney general’s office said on Sunday.” (here - http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/02/2009216201045322452.html )

Remember!!!!!