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[SYNERDATA]

I would like to speak publicly here, briefly, about a matter of personal concern.

This is a matter of concern to certain people in our city, who would recognize it, and their part in it, as well as why I am bringing it up as of their recent behind the scenes responses to my recent public speaking in this forum.

This is about some past events in our city, and so let me just provide some background, first...

After my last marriage was completed in the 1990's, we were experiencing some issues at the financial management company we established at Gateway Village in the city, and the office was shut down, and being a partner, I did not have EI like the staff, and I found myself as a professional in our city having to very embarrassingly go onto welfare, and I was shocked to find out what that was like in the 90's. It certainly was no longer a social safety net, and had become a harmful thing.

I found that the only place I could rent was a hotel room, at the time, and so my home was put into storage, and I found myself living among those who are called the poor, meaning, culturally groomed as such, and I was right down there, experiencing it first-hand. I even found that I had to seek services provided by non-profit societies which reportedly assist the poor, and became familiar with a couple of them in the city.

One of them is a society which was founded in part by Scott, who came to Victoria with me when we were young, and who had a thing for helping the poor, which I advised against, lest he becomes stereotyped like Reverend AL, or the good doctor, and others who are well known, and make the stereotype.

Scott had left the society, having said at the time that it was a "poverty industry" and that all they were doing was living off the poor, and creating a culture of poverty, and more of it all the time, and other sharp criticisms, which he became known for, Canada-wide, in poverty industry meetings,
and so he had left the society he founded, saying it was counter-productive to it's own causes, and the like. This formed my naive first impression of what poverty societies are allegedly like, from an insider and founder of one.

I have another friend who's name is Paul, and for most of the years I knew Paul, he ran a small spiritual bookstore and publishing house, but he was also a spiritual teacher, and another of those who, with Scott and others, founded that society to help the sudden appearance of street kids in Victoria, which had never really existed until the late 80's here, but Paul was helping them from his bookstore, and giving shelter, and selling his books to get money to feed the kids, while not eating himself, being a consummate altruist in his spiritual trip, which was his business.

At that time, Paul was the Director of that society, and while in the city one day, I met Paul walking from one society board meeting to another, and joined him to chat on the way, and Paul said to me he is on 12 boards in town, which honestly made my eyes bug out a little, like he could not be serious.

I am renowned in this city as a writer of true history (the boring kind), for I used to write in public, until the CRD outlawed hospitality in Victoria, and so I was a public writer, and was witnessed writing all the time when I was not at the office or at home, I would sit in a local cafe or restaurant and write my ongoing testament of all that I witness truly happening, and this history book is a great work of mine, the breadth of which can garner it a world record, were it submitted, and other literary flattery and excusable self-promotion.

Paul, (and others) would often come and sit with me at the A&W on Johnson Street for lunch, and I would stop writing, and interview a stream of community members, for I knew thousands of colorful outgoing Victorians and urban artists and community stars and so on, and so I kept a pulse on the city, and so as Paul and I were walking on that day, he said to me that he wanted me to listen carefully, and write down everything he said to me, and he began to tell me some things, and said that he wanted me to write the truth as such for the protection of innocent people he said were endangered, which of course sounded a little over the top to me, but I listened, for Paul speaks the truth, and there is no guile in him.

And Paul asked me to come, and serve on the board of one of the societies he was on, the one Scott helped he and others to found, and to write down everything I witnessed for the protection of innocent people in what he described as a very serious developing matter which reportedly involved allegations of serious wrongdoing, and the like. I was always critical of being associated with a poverty society, and so I was not into it, and I like to witness nice things to write about, personally, and so I did not take him up on his invitation to enter public service.

It happened that some weeks later, I was told there is a board "party" for that society where all members of the society were invited, and though I was not a member, I was invited to come for a fantastic and lavish feast for those who serve the poor, and those who support them in the society, and being an hungered, I went, for it was in progress at some other society's building nearby. I went for the supper, and it turned out that at the supper they were also holding an election of a new board, and because of the controversy, half the board reportedly quit, while those who remained were the one's who take no wage because they are altruists, and live among the poor like Paul, or were just not associated with those who had left, and so there was a shortage of board members, and Paul looked at me when they asked if any of the society members would like to join the board, and others also looked to me, for while I was not associated with the poor, I was certainly being poor after our office closed, but was highly respected as a curious professional, and I was flattered then by the show of public approval,
and was overcome, and said that I would be honored to serve the community on a society board, and I was elected with broad support, there and then.

I had no idea what I had just been elected into, apart from rumors of issues.

I remember leaving that meeting that day very excited, for I had never been on a board of directors, apart from private companies I mean, and my community service has otherwise always been independent and unrecognized as such, but I saw that I was beginning something new, and I was very inspired, and envisioned that I may be entering into some new career proceedings, where in my family, public service was not an option, but a professional and personal obligation, and so I relished the opportunity to exercise my professional skills in professional community service, and I quickly forgot about the stigma and stereotype of being associated with serving the poor in a professional context, for a job was a job, and Scott was always paid well, and now I was going to do as I had criticized him for doing to his young professional reputation, and felt proud to be coming to take a part in the community of those who serve the poor in societies in this city, where I felt my own altruism should find warm reception and excellent compatibility.

Now, that's the background information for the concern I am bringing up here today, and the issue revolves around things I later witnessed and recorded as requested to by the board of that society, around which controversy was swirling, and building, even pouring into the local news, to my surprise, wherein I found myself in something of a spotlight for whatever had happened to the previous board, which caused it to split, which resulted in my being requested to come as a professional witness and historian to maintain a presence and record all things, verifiably, and admissibly, for everyone's security.

Getting into the details of my findings of fact while serving on that board are beyond the intend of my bringing these things up before the wide community of people in Victoria who know what society I am speaking about, and what the controversy is, that I was witnessing from my vantage point as a newcomer, and mostly observational board member.

I came in right around when the press did, but know well some of those involved in the society as a basis of understanding and board member integrity, and I fully investigated the issues which were playing out before my eyes each day. Unfortunately, I was never paid because the government instructed the banks to freeze the societies funds, and it was cut off, and the new society created by the board members who split were given the old societies funding, and so it was being rendered disfunctional, and was clearly being destroyed, and the government was clearly supporting those who left, and was also -clearly- punishing those who remained, and to my shock and horror, myself as well, as thought I had done something uncondonable or were some bad person, for having been elected to a society.

(Continued...)

[SYNERDATA]

(...Continued from previous posting)

During this whole time, I was reporting to council, for my eldest sister is a QC, and since there were allegations of serious wrongdoing, I was reporting to her, and retaining her and following the advice of council throughout my unpleasant and shockingly unprofessional experience, until I was advised to quit the board immediately, which I then did.

Apart from the specific issues and allegations and forensic audit, which was covered up, and so on, I observed that in essence, what had happened there before I arrived, is that altruists had conflicted with the normally overlooked "things" people do in "business" which are not to be spoken about, and are very common throughout all institutions in Canadian society at large,
and it all revolved around a matter of fiduciary duty, which Paul, as director, insisted on enforcing, and ultimately took full responsibility for doing more rightly than some would say is advisable, where others are not even capable of being so altruistic, as there is no profit in it, and their covered and controversial works were in conflict with it.

It happened that that many people in the city became involved, directly, or indirectly, and where business responds very obediently to government, many did what they were told to, and so many were doing things they should not be doing, and thus the emphasis came to be upon covering everything, by the government, to protect VIP's and respected business leaders and so on, who were being unfairly entangled in a hornet's nest of controversy.

I am specifically avoiding writing about the specifics of the controversy and what I witnessed and discovered, because my reason for writing this is the continuity of some in this community who continue to slander and cause unprovoked harm to members of that society, and those who were elected to it's board, including myself, for I found I was severely slandered, and my excellent professional reputation in the city was maliciously assaulted, and I was portrayed as involved in some kind of conspiracy by "evil poor people" to take over the society I was elected to, by request, and other absurdities perpetrated by those who had things to hide, among the board that split, and their contacts in government, all of whom I did not know, nor see.

There is much I can say up now, about "societies" based upon my experience, and that I found that what Scott said is the truth, and an understatement, and personally think they should be outlawed entirely, if I may disclose such a strong viewpoint. Unfortunately, I never developed any relations with the societies in this city, for I was elected to a board they were all assaulting together, and was branded some kind of bad person by those who were at issue in the matters I was asked to witness, and so it was all in all one of the worst experiences I have ever had, where I went to serve as elected, only to be criminally assaulted for things which happened before I was elected, while striving to support the society and do my duties,
while the government and other societies were in the process of destroying it to cover up what the forensic auditor found, which made him so furious, and I was being branded a "poor person" contrary to my established professional reputation, (even though I was certainly poor, because the society's funds were frozen by those branding me poor in the government, so I was serving for free like the others had to as the slowly dropped out one by one under the weight of what was being done to anyone serving that society, new to it, or old).

The reason I have written all this is that now, 12 years later, I have found that some of those throughout the city, who were set against that society, either personally, or because they were told to be adverse and slanderous, have continued to perpetuate harm against myself, and other innocent people who got caught in the crossfire of the hornet's nest that erupted because of the controversy, and serious crimes which -were- happening,
in my witness.

To me, it is all a very bad experience which is behind me, and forgotten, and my findings of fact have gone unpublished to protect the other innocent business people, many of whom were doing wrong things as advised to by higher authority, however, this subject comes up again each time those who have assaulted me for being elected to that board resume their backroom harm against myself (where not others who were on the board or members),
even 12 years after they successfully covered everything up and destroyed the society, which is no longer in it's place now, there are some who continue in very malicious slander and assault against myself according to untrue things which were concocted to try and make me seem like a bad guy and part of some conspiracy by "poor troublemakers" out to endanger those who were assaulting them.

I have written this, in this manner, to kindly request that all those who have assaulted me for being elected to that society board to cease and decist all adversity to me, where not to all those board members, and to cease all slander of my good name, and true reputation and history, which is all written, and well known by all who actually know me, as a very nice person in our city, otherwise, the only way that I can defend myself (and others) from such ongoing and unprovoked malicious administrative harm is to publish my reports written from 1998 through 1999, and I suggest, we should not want to go there, for I am a VERY good writer, and did get to the bottom of everything, and CAN protect all the innocent, if necessary, with my verifiable and admissible witness testimony, and I am of no interest in pursuing this matter further, but have been pressed to bring it up at this time in light of continued uncondonable activities intent to perpetuate the strategy which was implemented by those board members who left in the board split, and which the government supported, in their universal slander of all remaining board members of a public and elected society I attempted to serve in my professional capacity.

I personally do not believe that in being elected into public service for the community, that that is due cause for people I do not know in other societies and government public service to assault and slander me, my good name, and professional reputation in Victoria, for things which allegedly happened to the previous board, before I had any association with that society, especially where there has been any basis to contradict my exemplary reputation as a well known, and well loved community member over two decades, and I have a keen interest in protecting the good name I have inherited and uphold here,
which is why I have ventured to make these public statements of personal interest and concern as one of our community members, intending these to be read by any and all who have adventured to universally slander all who were elected to serve on that society board, which had previously been portrayed as an honorable thing to do in community service.

12 years is a long time later for wrongdoers to still be assaulting witnesses to their activities, or the fallout of them, as in my case, let alone, innocent and otherwise respected community members of the highest virtues, and so I am suggesting that those who still harbor guilt or maliciousness in relation to those proceedings smarten up, lest the continuity of their adversity to those they do not know results in some due legal response, like the publication of the reports the board requested I produce and my findings in investigating the serious allegations which were flying back and forth at that time, which includes references to local societies and businesses and the previous government of this province, which was dealt with by the attorney general shortly thereafter.

To me, this is a personal matter now, and it can only be addressed and resolved in public, and in the witness of any of those involved at the time, where I do not know who those are in other societies and public service in the government (still) who have made up unflattering things about me in the course of their blanket slandering of that board, but they have never known me, or my business, or my established reputation among all who actually know me in our community, and the only way to clarify the truth to protect my reputation is to publish my historical records and other reports which would clarify all things, transparently, which certainly can be done.

Thanks to all who have taken the time to read about this personal concern in this public forum, where I am striving to be heard by all who are privy to the matters to which I refer, which are old, and dated, and should be without such concerning ongoing rammifications 12 years after the controversy, where there is no intent or desire on my part to re-open these matters to ensure the protection of the innocent who were caught in the cross-fire between the members of a split board of directors over alleged wrongdoing I was asked to come and write all I witnessed, to ensure security for all, in relation to.

Gordon Stark