,-- --• FREE - Donations accepted.

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WI'W.C'Rrnnti\"~>.OrJ: FEBRUARY 1, 2008

NE WS LETTER 40 I Main St , Vancouver V6A 217 604-865-2289

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Phase I, Pickton Trial

It has been almost six years since the world became aware of the atrocities Willie Pickton inflicted upon women from the downtown eastside. The most vul­nerable women in society. He preyed upon women from this community because he knew he could when no one was watch in g.

The sentence of this monster left me personally feeling like the women had not received the justice their heinous murders deserved. The grizzly last moments of their lives at the hands of this monster who sat through I I months of testimony showing virtually no emotion. Perhaps he was so removed from the reality of his act as he took the last breath from each woman as he massacred their remains and attempted to hide the evidence forever. Willie was found guilty of not first degree murder but "2"d degree because the jury cou ld not find evidence that Willie planned to carry out these evil acts. lie will serve 25 years but with time al ready served he will do a fur ther 19 years. I could accept that on the first count he may not have planned to kill the first woman, Mamie Frey back in 1997 when she first disappeared but in my mind, he must have known he was going to kill Brenda Wolfe who disappeared in February 1999, next was Geor­gina Papin who disappeared a month later in March 1999, then there was Andrea in June of200 1 and Serena Abotsway in August of 200 I and then Mona

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Wilson in November 2001. In all of that, sometime either before or after these women were murdered, he had murdered or planned to murder the other 20 women whom he is charged with murdering. Perhaps these women felt safe as they were getting into his vehicle because there was another woman with him to assist in his dastardly deeds. Was this the planning phase as they cruised the streets of the downtown eastside searching out vulnerable women? . It is est imated the costs of investigation/prosecution

has cost the taxpayers $116 million dollars. Money not so well spent. Think of the amount of good work this money could have done for women in the dtes o·r more treatment facilities for the addicted population in this community. That is 4.29 million dollars for each of the 27 women.

Given the costs of this trial, perhaps the justice system may reconsider bringing the monster back for phase 2 of the trial where 20 other families seek justice for their daughters. It has been too long al­ready to wait for justice. The first woman officially recorded as missing from the downtown eastside was Lillian O'Dare in September 1978.

Most of the women were miss ing in the decade of the 1990's. His list covered off almost every letter of the alphabet when it comes to the names of women: Allen, Arseneault, Abotsway, Abigosis, Allenback, Abraham, Baker, Bottomley, Beck, Boen, Borhaven, Crey, Clark, Chinnock, Crawford, Creison, Donahue, DeVries, Dumba, Drew, Egan, Ellis, Feliks, Frey, Fedyshyn, Guno, Gonzalez, Gurney, Hardy, Holyk, Henry, Hardy, Hall, Hallmark, Irving, Jones, John­son, Joesbury, Jardine, Knight, Koski , Laliberte, Lane, Little, Mah, Murdock, Melnick, Miner, McDonell, O'Dare, Papin, Petersen, Rail, Rock, Soet, Sebastian, Spence, Triff, Williams, William, Wilson, Ward, Wolfe, Wattley, Young & Young. ln the interview recorded on video camera, he ad­

mitted he wanted to make it an even 50! ? But the numbers were much higher. Who else was responsi­ble, where are they? Will there be justice for all of the women? Will society have learned anything from this horror? Will women in this community be treated any differently? I think not. There are recent reports of another serial killer on the loose in the rraser Valley. Sex trade workers are not safe until there is a system in place to record license plates and descriptions of vehicles and of people who look for the services of sex trade workers. The Crown's appeal of Pickton's sentence is the most recent news. To me this is good news because an

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injustice has occurred to the memory of these women and families with the verdict as it stands. This is the ~8 £9D cost to a society who turn their backs on their most ~l6 'CQ

vulnerable citizens. G(j €8 If you would like the name of woman included on the cgD memoriaL brochure, pLease contact Marlene at (604) o.D. 'V

665-3005. ocPd78 Join us for the 17'" Annual February 14th Women's g.o

Memorial March beginning at noon at the Carnegie %\/ Theatre. The march itself will begin at 1 pm from r88 Main & Hastings. C%

Submitted by Marlene George &0 0;tg

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The February 14111 Women's Memorial March needs your help ....

The recent conviction of the monster responsible for the deaths of many vulnerable women from the downtown eastside continues to leave family, friends, loved ones and community members with an overwhelming sense of gri ef and loss from the tragedy of their deaths.

The February l41h Women's Memorial March is

sponsored by organizations and individuals like you . It is held to honour the 1 ives of women who die each year due to violence and to remember the more than 40 women who are still missing. Each year the Memorial March committee must raise funds to pay for such things as hall rental, sound system, food, red & yellow roses, memorial bro­chures, posters, candles, tobacco and other ex­penses. l fyou would like to sponsor one compo­nent of this year's march please call Marlene at (604) 665-3005.

This is an opportunity for the community and those who support us to come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters and remember the lives of those who are sti ll unaccounted for. Please respect the march and leave your agency banners at home as the Women's Memorial March carries

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five banners to honour the women. 3 We thank you in a~v.a~ce for your su~rort and

look forward to you Jommg us at the 16 Annual February 14111 Women's Memorial March. It will be held on Wednesqay February 1411

\ 2008 start ing at 12:00 at Carnegie Community Centre Theatre, 40 I Main Street, Vancouver, BC Make cheques payable to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, Women's Memorial March, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4J 1 All donations over $10.00 will be gratefully ac­knowledged with a tax deductible receipt. For more information please contact Marlene George at CarneQie G>~kne )f;('(:;;r;(' (604) ??5-3005, martene.george@vancouver.ca

THEIR SPIRITS LIVE WITHIN US The 17th ANNUAL WOMEN'S MEMORIAL MARCH

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2008

Gather at Carnegie Community Centre Theatre at 401 Main Street, Vancouver, BC beginning at noon

March will begin at 1 PM from Main & Hastings This event is organized and led by women be­

cause women, especially Aboriginal women, face

physical, mental , emotional, and spiritual vi­

olence on a daily basis

Honouring and Remembering the lives of the

27 murdered women and th e 36 women still

missing from downtown eastside

Drum: Red Blanket Singers For more information call Marlene at (604) 665-3005

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Solder & Sons Used books - Coffee & Ten

Curious audio recordings & equipment

247 Main Street - 315-7198

www. so I de ran dsons. com

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Gabor Mate - /11 the Realm of Hungry Ghosts­Close Encounters with Addiction - Exclusive Vancouver Book Tour Event Wednesday March 12, 7:30 PM Saint Andrew's Wesley, 1012 Nelson at Burrard. Minimum Dona­tion: $5 . Ilear the wonderful Dr. Gabor Mate discuss his latest and highly anticipated book, In tile Realm of Huugry Ghosts, with host: Dr. Bruce Alexander, Professor Emeritus (Psychology), Simon Fraser University, Author, The Globalization of Addiction. In formation: http://www.necessaryvoices.org and necessaryvoices@gmail.com About this Book

In this timely and profoundly original new book, bestselling writer and physician Gabor Mate looks at the epidemic of addictions in our society, tells us why we are so prone to them and what is needed to liberate ourselves from their hold on our emotions and behaviours.

For over seven years Gabor Mate has been the staff physician at the Portland Hotel, a residence and harm reduction facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. His patients are challenged by life-threat­ening drug addictions, mental illness, Hepatitis Cor HIV and, in many cases, all four. But if Dr. Mate's patients are at the far end of the spectrum, there are many others among us who are also struggling with addictions. Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, work, food, sex, gambling and excessive inappropriate spend ing: what is amiss with our lives that we seek such self­destructive ways to comfort ourselves? And why is it so difficult to stop these habits, even

as they threaten our health, jeopard ize our relation­ships and corrode our lives? Beginning with a dra­matically close view of his drug addicted patients, Dr. Mate looks at his own history of compulsive behaviour. He weaves the stories of real people who have struggled with addiction with the latest re­search on addiction and the brain. Providing a bold synthesis of clinical experience, insight and cutting edge scientific findings, Dr. Mate sheds light on this

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most puzzling of' human trauues. n~ l-J•vpv.::."'~ u

compassionate approach to helping drug addicts and, for the many behaviour addicts among us, to address ing the void addiction is meant to fill.

I believe there is one addiction process, whether if manifests in the lethal substance dependencies of my Downtown Eastside patients, the frantic self-sooth­ing of overealers or shopaholics, the obsessions of gamblers, sexaholics and compulsive internet users, or in the socially acceptable and even admired be­haviours of the workaholic. Drug addicts are often dismissed and discounted as unworthy of empathy and respect. In telling their stories my intent is to help their voices to be heard and to shed light on the origins and nature of their ill-fated struggle to over­come suffering through substance use. Both in their flaws and their virtues they share much in common with the society that ostracizes them. If they have chosen a path to nowhere, they still have much to teach the rest of us. In the dark mirror of their lives we can trace outlines of our own. - from In tile Realm of Hungry Ghosts

About this Author

Gabor Mate, M.D. is the author of the bestselling books Scattered Minds and When the Body Says No- published in ten languages on five continents­and co-author, with Gordon Neufeld, of Holt/ On To Your Kids. Former medical columnist for the Globe and Mail, where his byline cont inues to be seen on issues of health and parenting, Dr. Mate has had a family practice, worked as a palliative care physi­cian and, most recently, with the addicted men and women in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

Visioning an Oppenheimer Park Art Show All artist and allies in the Oppenheimer Community Meet: Oppenheimer Park, Friday February 8, 11 am

Exhibition next October@ Gallery Gachet

11The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." Bert Russell

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John Ferguson and I have put a photograph d:splay.,... of the three sets of performances of the Opera. Con­denmelf into the Carnegie Art Gallery. The ptctures will be in the Art Gallery until February 29, 2008 but one display will be removed February 13 for use in the Women's March on February 14. The Opera • Condemned • pictures will be put back in .the display February 15 and left until February 29, 200~. . The present performance of' Comlen~ned bcgt~s

on February 3rd at St. James Commumty Square tn

Kitsilano. The demand for tickets was s~11great, two more shows were added, one February 4 , and the other February 5'11

, 2008. The display of our 2008 performance. has not hap­

pened yet so pictures in this display will be ad.ded as the practices and performances .take place. Thts 2008 display cabinet is a tn progress.

Bharbara Gudmundson

THE COLOUR OF CLARITY

"The ultimate decision about what is accepted as right and wrong will be made not by individual human wis­dom, but by the disappearance of the groups that have adhered to the 'wrong' beliefs. - Fredrich von Hayek

''All art intuitively apprehends coming changes in the collective unconsciousness.'' - C. G.Jung

To me, it seems that what thi s wild world un­fortunately appears to lack in Love, in Unity, in Peace and Harmony, might very well be made up for through the highly practical and trans formative energy of artistic expression. lt has been, and shall always be, my own per­sonal hope and guiding light, that throug h the exquis itely supernatural spark and flare of the true creative process and its infinite potential for pure, pro-active progress, that we as a col-

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lecti ve community o f sacred and divin e be­ings, might all in our own time and space com e to discover something within our indi­vidual identiti es (in all th e ir fantastically unique and count less complexities). which reflects~ with honesty and honour. a profound­ly common and en) ight ening truth: we are all artists . Each of us miraculous ly blessed with a bounty of marvel as we find ourselves born to grow unto the blank setting and scope of Life and a chance at I iving by choice; a backdrop upon which our very own songs and stories of substance, of soul , might manifest the mse lves in some sublime way of beauty or a construct of character, one forged and framed in full bloom throu g h the wonderland of our dream­inspired journey towards an eternal paradigm and a mindful foundation for the bold becom­ing of self and (should we be so fortunate) sin­cerity and serenity.

I have myself e xpe rienced this as a rare and radi cal occurre nce, that once shared in s tead­fast humility for all humanity, e ither as an ideal or stateme nt or even the communing of clarity and consciousness, can then be righ­teous ly cons idered as an act of genuine free­dom, for now and ever after.

For each and every work of art created by any one, anywhere, ever, must always be rec­ognized and respected as having been con­ceived , carried and finally given its glorious birth of a singular strength and struggle, of un- . touchable moments and meaning, of intimacy, ins ight and ideas. through the fearful and fra­gile, in joy and sorrow alike, and finally to the ageless spirit of some spec ial place , which might somehow s peak to that which may have otherwise passed on unsaid, unseen: undisco­vered. or s imply never unders tood.

LuvNik

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CONFRONTING RACIAL PROFILING Racism, Policing am/ Community Responsel·

**free public forum ** Thursday February 21, 2008

7:00PM to 9:30 PM Holiday Inn Mctrotown

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4475 Central Dlvd, Burnaby, BC Across from Mc•rotown Skvtrain station

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Frcr underground parking ~lVailablc ~•t hotel

Recent high-profile events like the Maher Arl'lr Commiss ion <md Frank Paul Inquiry have drawn public attent ion to the n e~ tio nal problem of rHcial profi ling in policing and the Hbusc of anti-terrorism practices. Join a free public forum to discuss these issues and

ta lk about community so lutions. Representatives from immigrant-serving, Aborig inal, anti-racism and legal rights groups will share their thoughts. We'll al so hear from Charles C. Smith) author ofthe recently published book "Conflict, Crisis am/ Ac­countahi!i~,,: Raciall'n~fi/ing ami Law Enforce­ment in Canada". About the bool,": "Racial profiling contributes to mistrust, alienation

nnd a diminished sense of citizenship and threatens to undermine both the perceived and substantive equulity or Canada 's Aboriginal and immigrant/ ethnic communities. Charles C. Smith adds to the grovving call for acknowledgement of the problem, along with policy initiatives to reverse this harmful trend." - Dr. Sheema Khan, Columnist, Globe and Mail Charles C. Smith is a consultant to the Ontario Hu-man Rights Tribunal, and a Lect urer at the Universi­ty ofToronto Scarborough. He was also Equity Ad­visor to the Canadian 8ar Association and the first F:quity Advisor for the Law Society of Upper Cana­da. He has authored numerous papers on r<1c ial pro­filing. eq uality and divers ity and is also a published play'"'right, essayist and poet. Presented by: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC Civil Liberties Association Canadian Race Relations Foundation

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BC Teachers' Federation Hospital Employees' Union MOSAIC Co-sponsored by: African Canadian Legal Association Amnesty International BC Anti -Dote Multiracial Girls' and Women's' Network Association of Black Law Enforcers Association of Chinese Canadians for Equality and Solidarity Society Black Law Students' Association of Canada Canadian Arab Federation Canadian Association of Black Lawyers Canadian Islamic Congress Centre for Native Policy and Research Chinese Canadian National Council Jamaican Canadian Association National Anti -Racism Council of Canada Pacific Immigrant Resources Society Pivot Legal Society Progressive Intercultural Community Services So­ciety (PICS) Stopwar.ca Coalition United Native Nations For more information please contact the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: ccpabc@policyalternatives.ca, or 604-801 -5121.

Humanities 101 Steering Committee Meeting Saturday February 2, 1 - 3 pm

in Classroom IT at Carnegie Centre All alumni and current students are most welcome

Reading f'nd Study Groups Philosophy 101 with Kevin Bardosh 1 -3 pm, Classroom II at Carnegie Centre Sunday February 3, March 2& 16, April 6

Shakespeare's Tragedies with Graham Winfield 3 -5pm, Classroom II at Carnegie Centre Sunday February 3, March 2, April 6

On Vancouver's Architecture with Arthur Allen Friday February l5, 7 pm, Classroom II

Financial Literacy: Mouey Skills at Belkin House Monday March 17 and Tuesday March 18 1 -4 pm , 555 Homer Street

Please Register with Michael at Humanities I 01 if you are interested in attending.

Privacy office to check out Ministry debit/gift card plan

The BC Office of Information and Privacy plans to check out the BC government's plan to issue cards instead of cheques to people on welfare. I received a phone call from Mary Carlson in that Office on Jan 22 assuring me that the Privacy Office is trying to check up on the matter. Her call came after I sent the letter below:

Carnegie Community Action Project 401 Main St., Vancouver, BC V6A 2T7; Phone 604 729-2380

Janu.ary 14, 2008 Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner PO Box 9038 Stn. Prov. Govt. Victoria, BC

Dear Sir or Madam, Re: Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance

plan to issue a card with welfare payments on it

Our association was recently invited by Vancity Credit Union to attend a meeting about the above matter. At the meeting we learned that the cards could be programmed to track an individual's use of the card. That is, theM inistry could gather informa­tion on how a person on welfare who has the card spends their money-whether it is spent in a liquor store, out of province, etc. It is also possible to pro­gram the cards so that users could not use the cards in, for example, liquor stores or out of province, or • • m casmos. We don't know if Van City or some other company

will ultimately get the contract to provide this card. Whoever gets the contract, we are extremely con­cerned by this potential to violate the privacy of in- , dividuals who have to rely on welfare or disability pensions. Can your office do something to ensure that if the Ministry does go forward with this plan, it is prevented from gathering this type of information or putting these types of restrictions on the cards? Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours truly, Jean Swanson, co-ordinator

Cc: Elizabeth Geller

Jean Swanson Coordinator Carnegie Community Action Project

Re: Policy or Issue Consultation; Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance; OIPC File F08-33859

I am writing in reply to your January 14, 2008 Jetter regarding your concerns about the implementation of the welfare payment card by the Ministry of Em­ployment and Income Assistance (MEIA). As advised during our telephone conversation ear­

lier today, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) is currently in dialogue with MEIA regarding the privacy implications of this issue. Your letter will be added to file regarding this • ISSUe.

Sincerely, Elizabeth Darche, Intake Officer

PACK RAT or BUSHV-TAll.EO

WOOO RA'l'

Neotoma cirureo

( I hear Jots of science related thoughts & ideas in the general conversation at the Learning Exchange.)

Heard this last on Quirks and Quarks and found it fascinating! Here is the website for Quirks& Quarks http://www.cbc.ca/guh·ks/

' This is the UBC meda release for the article I got thru Quirks and Quarks.

UBC Astronomer Produces First Detailed Map of Dark Matter in a Supercluster

For the first time astronomers are able to see indirect evidence of dark matter and how this invisible force impacts on the crowded and violent lives of galax­ies. University of British Columbia researcher Ca­therine Heymans has produced the highest resolu­tion map of dark matter ever captured before. Scientists believe that dark matter is the invisible

web that houses galaxies. And as the universe evol­ves, the gravitational pull of this unseen matter causes galaxies to collide and swirl into clusters. Heymans and the University ofNottingham's Meg­

han Gray led an international team to test this theory that dark matter determines the location of galaxies.

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"For the first time we arc clearly detecting irregular clumps of dark matter in a supercluster," says Hey­mans, a postdoctoral fellow in the Dept. of Astron­omy and Physics. "Previous studies were only able to detect fuzzy,

circu lar clumps, but we're able to resolve detailed shapes that match the distribution of galaxies." Using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, Heymans

and her team viewed an area of sky approximately the size of the full moon. They mapped the invisible dark matter scaffo lding of the massive supercluster Abell901/902 and the detailed structure of the indi­vidual galaxies embedded in it. Abell 901/902 resides 2.6 billion light-years from Earth and measures more than 16 million light-years across. "It is to the universe what New York is to America­-a huge, fascinating but frightening place," says Heymans. "Dark matter leaves a signature in distant galaxies" explains study co-author Ludovic Van Waerbeke, an assistant professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. "For example, a circular galaxy will become more distorted to resemble the shape of a banana if its light passes ncar a dense region of dark matter." By observing this effect, astronomers can then infer the presence of dark matter. Heymans constructed a dark matter map by measur­

ing the distorted shapes of more than 60,000 fara­way galaxies located behind the Abell 90 l/902 su­perclustcr. To reach Earth, these galaxies' light tra­veled through the dark matter that surrounds the Abell 90 I /902 supercluster of galaxies and was bent by its massive gravitational field . The Hubble study pinpointed four main areas in

the supercluster where dark matter has pooled into dense clumps, totaling I 0 trillion times the Sun's mass. These areas match the known location of hun­dreds of old galaxies that have experienced a violent

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history in their passage from the outskirts of the su-perclustcr into these dense regions. Gray and J leymans will present their findings on

Jan. 10 at the 211th meeting ofthe American Astro­nomical Society in Austin, Texas. The results are also scheduled to appear in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. A high-resolution photo of the Abell 90 I /902 super­cluster dark matter map is available from Lorrainv Chan at 604.822.3213. View thumbnail at: www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/download.

Submitted by Debbie Blair

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Everywhere is within walking distance if you have time The soul that is within me no man can degrade Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes

You may be disappointed if you fail but you are doomed if you don't try again.

Every plant or flower grew through dirt Imagination is the highest kite everyone can fly

Not everything that is faced can be changed but nothing can be changed until it is faced Be like a postage stamp stuck to one thing until you get there or get it

An idea is salvation by imagination A real friend is one who walks in When the rest of the world walks out A picture is a silent poem (a poem without words)

Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot Rudeness is the weak person's imitation of strength

Ruth Matcmotja

An Invitation to the World

Share in Spirit the work we do on Valentine's Day every year in Vancouver's infamous downtown eastside since 1992 we've held a march to remember our missing women after years of struggle to be heard and always ignored we began the march walking the streets where they died ... or disappeared -sisters, mothers daughters all beloved st ill too many going missing today so join with us in remembrance Honour and Respect for these women join in with your voices raised for change determined, we will not give up

_so join with us on Valentine's Day if not in person - at horne with your mind and heart intention or start a march in your own area

lack of safety for women is a global injustice & needs fixing

Jgemeroy@telus.net

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Alberta Premier: Money before Morality Last week Premier Stelmach visited Washington, DC in an effort to drum up fiuther support and as­sure the American politicians that the resources from the tarsands in Fort McMurray are stable and secure. He obviously fa iled to mention the heal th concerns currently being experienced in Fort Chi­pewyan which he is very aware of, especially since the Timoney results in November 2007.

We have actually j ust lost another young man, 28 years old from cancer whose funeral services will be held this week. Actually, he's called anything to do with the environment as raised by Albertans gener­ally, as a "mvtll ."

Message sent to residents and friends of the D.E Sam Sullivan is coming to the Downtown Eastside­Wednesday, January 23rd, accompanying the Gov­ernor General on a 'tour' as part of a government led housing conference. I le has insisted he come to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre even though he was uninvited and not welcome! Come down and let Sam Sullivan know what you

think of him: the mayor who has publically refused to deal with the DTES Women Centre Power of Women Group's Housing Swap Challenge; has spearheaded the Civi l City initiative which will criminalize homeless and poor people; has refused to institute a moratorium on residential hotel and lodging house conversions; has refused to maintain minimum living standards in low-income rental buildings; and continues to unabashedly push the Olympics agenda despite the undeniable devastation it is causing. Loosely organized by an ad hoc group of Downtown East ide residents and advocates; Indigenous free School, Indigenous Action Movement, and others supporters. For more information email indige­nous.free.school@gmail.com or 604 339 3234 lEditor's note: Sullivan cancelled; NPA Councillor Ball was his 11rep" in Gov.Gen Jean's photo-op pa­rade but was refused entrance to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre when Jean was inside.]

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An Ass In Passion To David Cunningham and APC

You're yelling vulgar and crude. Doesn' t support your cause dude.

Yelling loud and clear the Poor's needs. Soon plants supporting seeds. Your cause is just and sound.

Rudeness scares those wanting to be around. Your cause is worthy, of that there is no doubt.

By all means continue on to shout. Just leave that vulgar language out.

This may not please the crude. Nor those desiring to be rude.

llowever the majority in poverty who are not. Don't appreciate the image you 're painting of our lot

The poor are not all such vulgar thugs. Nor should their fight be swept under society's rugs.

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donkey

Painting a picture of us as such. For the cause doesn' t do much .

Just promotes poor bashing and disgust.

With you many would march s ide by side. If only your rude and vulgar ness you'd hide.

Support for your cause would then be very wide.

The picture of the poor you paint. Is far from being that of a saint. Instead of joining in your ranks. We say that's not us, no thanks.

Please drop that F word and we'll all do fine. Many more then would join in line.

With you they could your cause define. Until this happens your way will not be mine.

Colleen Carro ll

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Sugar and Spice

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Spice it up once again, your fiery innermost centre self, reaching within your private world , become your so-called reinventor waste not, want not, don't pay a hairy scary price and try so hard not to be a wailing baby, to cry alone scrunched up in deepest, darkest night for sure don't roll the dice into a terrible tither, into a shock­ing fretful fright and in the morning do you still spike your potent murky coffee or ginger up your flattened tepid tea, enabling you to cast away all your forlorning 'cause you reflectively realize that your brief lifestyle so far sure ain ' t been posh, so to prevent the looming facts of a stark awakening and, if you're lucky maybe thirty, forty years (could be forlorn or forever forgotten) Whatta send off!! eh?! Neither deluxe nor catered so avoid having your balloons popped, pricked and/or deflated. And about your digs they ain't that hot - they are aw-fu-lly painted and I might add, your fixtures are incredibly dated so unforgivably not related - but don't ever let that grind you down beneath the scope of your fragmented tattered dreams. when they really mat­tered with hopes and wishes now alike, submerged underwater, drowned but don't let that get you down strung out or sedated you got nobody don't that hurt to be so harshly isolated and you try your dam­nedest to get your head straight and completely un­sedated and yet I'm quite sure you ain't got no re­ally super serious cares even though life can be up

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& down, 50/50; no you're right that don't seem fair Don't you think sometimes that you'd be much bet­ter offkickin' n screamin' with bitchin' panache and a certain, calculated caustic flair?! No, not like wear ing colours and useless, hopeless slurs and swearing - that ain't no way to be- and to best a competitor for progressive, positive, lasting change ... Reasons written about this and that, sticks and stones, round or flat; and dust and bones and what should the fu­ture begat that has lain forever in stacks of books so crack some bindings in those infinite endless tomes

ROBYN LIVINGSTONE

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VOLUNTEERS Unfortunately DJ Mix is cancelled for February.

however .....

KARAOKE is alive and well on Friday 8 & 22. so come out and sing your heart out!

Volunteer Committee meets on Wed, February 6

Volunteer Dinner is on Wednesday, Feb. J 3 at 4:30pm Sharp in the theatre. Following the dinner there will be a live Bluegrass Band.

For one of twenty free tickets to the Carnegie Opera Colldemuetl, see Colleen in Program Off.

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AS THE CROW DIES The missing trans! ink to our future is proof enough, progress is poison & suckers like us punchbowl guzzle this stuff, like telling the blind no one dies

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happiness and joy abound and soulmates are so easy to find, and sincerity is always on their mind, the newest job-craze stroller bus controllers, phones, bikes just a few dislikes, the person/people who hate must surely know what they like, say the twenty people they bring along on multi-country fact find­ing missions .. . Wherever you are you don't know what we need, but as long as everybody gets to pay part of this parties' crap we will do what you do best nothing, guaranteed! Back to the arm that feeds they seem very knowl­edgeable almost generous in their si lence unfortu­nate for all those who know what this means. Bus after bus full of empty people leaving your group behind a scary sign of the times all this and price of admission to rise Nightmares! Nightmares! shouts the paperboy. Just Another Trans/ink Love Song all of it for me and you, kind of reminds me of old torch songs wrapped in glass filled with (Jove) and gas 'this bot­tle's for You' their season for giving ends as of the beginning a Jacob Marley chain letter has more width than the ice beneath us it's scarily thinning Mr. Translink please think about it, we're stuck with vehicles once boarded you'd think the next stop was an extermination camp maybe if everyone helps out we can mail these things somewhere else just bring in your stamps 'Throw those strollers on you selfish selfish people bikes why not are you sure we can't tow cars as well I see the point about to be made they'd mistake it for refuse probly the cars as well, one of these 3 buses will surely pick us up but when the little sardine cans fill & repeatedly pass by it kind of wrecks the beginning of your day. Don't accuse me of rage I'm the one acting my age don't get me off on the wrong foot but I've had drivers who won't unclench their brakes they'd rather unclench their arm sockets

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while many peop le empty their pockets to get on, I // .. listen to the sound of another year dying so over and over again and again, we will run into each other again and over, over and again, please don't ask questions l don 't want to even know when.

By Robert McGillivray "Propaganda does not deceive people .. it merely helps them deceive themselves." - Eric Hoffer

STILL AND MOVING liFE Downtown Eastside

People won't understand poetry poetry will understand people,

trees along Powell St. east speak in the tongues

of dream ing gods. Their roots go down down to re­

gions undreamt of buy urban bureaucrats!

Garhage bins hold rusted tongues ..

not telling rotten state secrets!

Assorted peoples wander the grubby street,

from all planets auras,

but only the ghosts remain silent,

they prefer to mingle with roots and dead leaves

and echoes of latent moonlight.

john alan douglas

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Myopeia

All the more the fool you, dear Moo with the good energy I gave the girls (your clientele) with love for free, having fun being me you could have easily there created. the finest dining room in Vancouver with an elegance of natural grace & charm thru healthy eating with fun and laughter guest invitations highly prized, sought-after by discerning activist women as honours and you too could blossom & grow in beauty Eating dinner there yourself, when around.

At the very least, on an Exec. Director salary out of your own pocket you cou ld have sprung for "spring greens" for salad daily serve food in your clientelle's "best interest" Be their ONLY SOURCE in whole Eastside here for our daily dark leafy greens - as is prescribe by all doctors, nurses, dieticians library books, TV and courses attended.

but No! what do you do poor you dear Moo? refuse to listen, fight with voices for change call bad food good and plead poverty complain endlessly of stress & job burn-out voice your hatreds and angers as you munch down another fattening cheap McDonald's meal finally realized I was being delusional: dumb to expect honesty, true compassion real care for your clientele with loving kindness how could you? it's simply just not there it's not in you for you yourself, poor Moo boo-hoo, boo hoo, poor pitiful you, dear Moo.

anonymous for safety -

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Fight to reopen the only food bank in DTES

Sometime around early November of2007, the only food bank outlet in the Downtown Eastside, formerly located at The Door Is Open on Cordova Street, closed, without prior notice and left just a sign directing DTES residents requiring food bank services to The Longhouse behind London Drugs on Hastings Street, the closest open food bank outlet.

Needless to say, it is virtually impossible to walk the approximately 25 blocks to the other location, plus 25 blocks back carrying groceries. Certainly, most people who would be using a food bank wouldn't have money for transit either, so that op­tion is out, also.

The reason given by Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Prep­chuk for the closure was that a study was done by them showing that people in the DTES don't have cooking facilities to prepare the food that the food bank gives out. So the only DTES food bank loca­tion was closed, and more food is being given by the GVFBS to soup line-ups and community kitchens in its place.

The obvious resu lt is that people who formerly took food home to prepare are now having to line up for long times for meals.

Wrote Sean Condon in a December 3, 3007 Only Magazine article, "'What we're trying to do is get people meals that are more nutritious and through community kitchen programs address people's isola­tion challenges,' says Prepchuk. However, the compensation is not sitting well with many in the Downtown Eastside. A petition is being circulated around the neighbourhood by Rob Morgan from the

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for the food bank to be reinstated.;, Both Rob Morgan and Audrey Laferriere belong

to Save Low-Income Housing Coalition, and both are fighting to get the DTES food bank outlet reo­pened. Both have written letters to The Vancouver Courier in this regard. Blank copies of Rob's peti­tion can be got at the Carnegie Association office, and completed petitions can be returned there. Once sufficient signatures are collected, the entire petition will become a press release and copies of it will be sent to elected officials.

In a Jetter to Prepchuk, Morgan wrote, "The study that I am doing is at a grassroots level and early in­dications are that there are a lot of hotel residents who have shared kitchens and/or hotplates- as well as [those in] social housing who have full kitch­ens- that depended on that food bank."

One astute person I spoke with said, "If it were the case that people in the DTES didn't have cooking facilities, why were so many people going to that food bank?"

An anti-poverty activist for whom I have great respect commented that they don't like to put pres­sure on charities (which the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society is). I totally agree, but what else can one do in this case? It's a situation born of des­peration.

If you would like to help, then please write, call, and/or e-mail: The Greater Vancouver Food Bank, 11 50 Raymur Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V6A 3T2, 604-876-3601, foodbank@foodbank.bc.ca; Chief Executive Officer, Cheryl Prepchuk, 604-876-0659 ext 10 I, cherylm@foodbank.bc.ca and let them know that the DTES food bank outlet is needed .

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By ROLF AUER

· Beware! Whenever administrators start dedicating themselves to policy and process you can be sure somebody's wellbeing is likely to be tossed aside as co I lateral damage.

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Such is the case with The Food Bank's ill-adviseu decision to remove carry-away food items from The Door is Open outlet on Cordova St. Cheryl Prepchuck seems to believe that it is a move upward for people to be forced to stand in a zombie line-up every morning in every kind of weather at 11 :00 A.M. so they can be fed like zoo animals, rather than offer them groceries to take home with them to eat at their leisure--like when they are actu­ally hungry or aren't expected at a doctor's office or elsewhere. Apparently Ms. Prepchuck believes that concepts of independence and dignity are beyond the scope of comprehension of Downtown Eastside residents who, for the most part, are impossible to insult.

I don't know a lot about the governance of the Vancouver Food Bank--whether it functions under the control of a board of directors or not. One would assume that under the Societies' Act it would be mandatory. If so, this body has a lot to answer for over this clumsy and insensitive decision taken by their Executive Director acting on their behalf.

I may be missing something here, but is it too simplistic a proposition to offer prepared food to those that want it and groceries to those who want and need these items? People have worked hard over the years to try to

elevate people to levels of self-esteem where they can feel as positive about their short and long-term future as is possible while living in abject poverty and sordid conditions foisted on them by uncaring governments wielding draconian policies to slap people back down at every turn. For The Food Bank, an organization which dedicates itself to as­sisting people in need to "prioritize" these same people out of a modicum of stability and substitute instead anxiety and a fee ling of worthlessness is not only infuriating, it's kind of sad.

lt's not easy for someone like Ms. Prepchuck, who is not of th is neighbourhood to come to terms with the harm done; she doesn't see the faces or feel their anguish from the confines of a swivel chair in a dis­tant office somewhere in the "real world", but one would hope she would try; and then re-consider this poorly thought out decision. Perhaps she could take to heart the words of Konrad Adcnaueur, former esteemed Chancellor of Germany, who often re­minded himself: As Chancellor, I reserve the right at

all times to be smarter today than I was yesterday.

Ian MacRae

How Poor is Poor

How poor is poor lfl choose to do with money what others wouldn't dream of am I now sudden ly rich, to be envied, to be looked at with a sidewise glance? How poor is poor If you're entrusted with a heavier load than others would dream of are you now sudden ly stronger to be used and chewed upon in private? Ifllenry spends his cash on smokes And Irene needs a lot of dope Can there be a decent justification If I spent my wad on developing my concentration taking yoga or mosaic construction am I richer? lfl choose to teach for free and end up paying higher prices for my dinner just to do so; Is the drinker poorer than the professor? Some poor patrons spend their dollars on food and still end in the gutter Some on computers wireless connectors newspapers and bicycles Is poor as poor does? Is a computer or television owner now rich, because he's not eating? Learning, watching reaching? Are you poorer to steal your toilet paper and chocolate bars because you spent your coins on women and wine? Are you poorer still to visit the famed? I low private are your parts? If suddenly a stranger from New York buys you a ticket to the Rock Show but springs on you the tune: now you must buy the beer at premium prices, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 later They used to say, there's no free lunch But I, for one, have had a bunch.

Rudolf Penner

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S lUtl trr S'lo/ The Squamish Chief and the Squamish Writers

Group invite entries to the 2008 Sea to Sky Literary Contest in any of five categories. Entries should involve the Sea to Sky region in some way- recrea­tion, history, natural beauty, etc. Contest is open to resdients of BC. Deadline June 1, 2008. Cash prizes and publication awarded.

For more information, see webpage

http://www .sq uamishartscouncil.org/pages/sq uamis . . .

Alone in my bed

so lost in my head searching tor an escape from something I take. Asking myself why Why did I put myself here? It's not easy to say goodbye but I really must try. My time with you is done I'm definitely not the one I won't spend my life thinking about you or losing the ones who arc true You've taken enough from me my heart, my soul, my spirit, and you were slowly taking my life I have so much more to live for so now leave my mind. Because I'm ready to leave you behind.

Kayla Zeleniski

THE VANCOUVER POETRY SLAM

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"Poetry that doe~·~~ 't ~·uck unless you say it does" presents a brand new event for poets aged 13-22

THE VANCOUVER YOUTH POETRY SLAM Cafe Deux Soleils: 2096 Commercial Drive

THE 41h MONDAY OF EVERY MONTH

. There will be an open micas well as the competition portion of the evening to accommodate as many readers as possible.

It starts at 8pm & Sign up is at 7: 15 Admission: $3 for highschool students

$5 for 19 and older Please let as many P.eople as possible know about this new night! 604 215 9230 for more info

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Why Valentines Day is important to women and stressful for men

By Geoffrey Ayi-Bonte, MA, RCC The Afro News Februmy 2006

It is that time of the year again when men run out to the malls to indulge in the consumer frenzy of so­called Valentine-related merchandise. Women, be honest: you love it. lt is the one day you are made to feel special in a way that you most likely deserve to feel all year-round. Should Valentine's Day be special for women? Yes! Should it be stressful for men? No! Honestly, all you have to do is show her (as you usually do) how much you care. If all else was equal on this planet, we would not

need a nationally recognized day to honor women for the gift they are to this planet. Instead, women are marginalized across the board. Valentines' Day is not the cure, but it is a very small start. Honestly, it shou ld not take something like that for men to wake up and share their privilege of power. Men, if you arc in a relationship with a woman,

chances are, she is expecting something special. One of the greatest gifts we can give our women is

to truly listen to what they want and need. That way, we do not have to rely on sales-drive clerks to tell us what our partner likes. More importantly, a Valentine's Day gift is more special when it is unex­pected. Yes, romance will get you far, but your to­ken of love need not be expensive, but rather, mea­ningful. It cou ld be a special little note, making dinner, running her a bath with rose petals in the water. .. the list is endless. If you listen to your part­ner, you will not have to be creative, because she will reveal who she is and what is important to her. (Lu's note: Please be creative!) Ladies, 1 cannot stress enough the importance of

consistency. If he only does special things for you

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when you are upset with him or only on "special" days, it may be beneficial for you to think about how you view your worth. This is not to say that he does not do enough ... that is for you to determine. I am, however, talking about the vicious cycle of: he screws up, you get upset, he makes up for it, no les­son learned, he screws up again. In extreme cases, it can look like "battered wife syndrome".

Evaluate what qualities a good partner needs to have in order for you to feel loved, appreciated, and supported all the time. If he docs not possess those traits, try coup les' counseling. If that doesn't work, make an educated decision about the type of rela­tionship you want and deserve.

I wish you all love and happiness. Happy Valen­tine's Day and Happy Black History Month! As always, be good to yourself. I' or more informa­tion, go to www.betterbalancc.ca (there are more very short articles of this nature at

his website under 'related articles'. Lu)

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s:a.

CHINESE NEW YEAR- Thursday, February 7 The Year of the Rat

Being born a rat is nothing to be ashamed of. In China the Rat is respected and considered a courageous, enterpris ing person. It's considered to be an honour to be born in the Year of the Rat and a privilege to know a Rat. Rats know exactly where to find shelter and can take care of themselves and others without problems. Rats are the most fit of all an imals to survive in any situation Positive characteristics of Rat people: charming, smart quick-witted, aggressive, protective and thrifty wi th a bright imagination and an ability to take the lead. Not-so-positive: mental restlessness, tend to take on too much only to discover they are unable to meet commitments. Those with Rat nature hold status and financ ial satisfacti on as their greatest motivation.

In this issue, count the number of rats that show up. To be fair, don't include all the human rats discussed!

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LEAP Year It's Leap Year today and I have no time to play.

Dancehall cellblock, stemcell letter blocks - wrist lash, whitewash, garbage bins with human trash ­fill 'er up keeping with demands, your number's up but where's the band- bordered up and cornered in, can't tell help from hell and then it begins - there will be no end to this reckless scribble, break out the violins while I bust up the fiddles Get out that list and check it twice, to be honest I don't care who's naughty and nice - individuals packed into gangs, like the sun th is planet will get its bang- the sound of birth is not something to hear twice. The Children Police are here and my rights have been given advice' - I've got witnesses, follow­ers and believers, was I the one voted most likely to be a unibomber receiver, soft rock and you guessed right: my name's anonymous, turned down anymore and the dogs will talk handcoversrock rocksmashes hand I hear the big decisions are coming from Dis­neyland- you think you have it when and on ly then they give you their card, that State of The Art attack you feel for and then fall hard When movies were silent and expressions to ld the story, boy meets girl and one gets incurable disease but the healthy one seems to suffer more how do you fit in the word sony- from image to pause no concern for any cause a fascinating parallel between my Leap Year I think I' II just look once more twice - neglected fulfillment has no awards show but at the top of my list is everyone 's vice- a little worse for wear as I scour the retirement files the future wi ll have its moments I'm sure. A single line longer than time apology denied that was alright now in­form whoever's important and tell them we have the cure- RIGHT! Savouring this desperation kind of like getting your picture taken away because it was ruined com ing out of God's Printer - just like schools that teach

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Rocco and Charlie Meet Mozart

Only seeming to come out ofFM radio Mozart symphony fill s the drab sleep ing room as two labrador dogs soak up sound like a sponge wa-ter like romantics moonlight.

Wolfgang leads them to dream beyond doggy universes beyond this grey world they wing onward in technicolour symphony.

To some other furry life where bones wi ll be symphon ic sound and a running bouncing leaping in fields of golden may.

john alan douglas

FRANK PAUL INQUffiY IS TOTALLY Ol'EN TO THE PUBLIC

701 \Vest Georgia Street- 8th floor at Georgia Street across from TD Bank

Begins at 9:00am- you can drop in any day. Lunch break generally at 12:30 unti12:00.

you to fear and to obey if you're on god's side you're taught hate and intolerance filtered and unfil­tered on display - just like real ity checking up on you as you lay swastika-like in your bed the last page has been written and read I know when I' m not needed and that time is right ahead dear.. believe me when I say, this year is Leap Year!

Robert McGillivray

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NE .. :DI.~E EXCIIANGE VAN- 3 Routes: 604-685-6561 City - 5:45pm - II :4Spm

p()WNT()WN EASTSIDE Y()UTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY

()vcrnight - I 2:30am - 8:JOaan Downtown Eastside- 5:30pm - J :30um

. 612 Main Street 604-251-3310

NEWSLETTER

TillS NI:WSI.f:lTI!It I~ A I'IJULil'ATION OF Tl If:

- -~ f \

CFRO 102.7FM CO-OP RADIO Submission deadline for next issue:

Tuesday~ Februar~ 12

PauiR Taylor has been volunteer Editor of the CaT11egie Newsletter since Dec. IS, t 986 - 21 years. -Cover artist unknown & Layout assistance, Lisa David -CAHNI:OII! COMMUNtTY CliNTitE ASSOCIATION

Articles reJlrcscnl the views of individunl conlribulurs and nut of I he Assuciatinn

I We 1clcnowlrd~e lh1t ( :unrgle Cummunily C ~rnlrt, and I hi! 1

L N_!w!_!rl,!!r,!r!_hlj!P~I'!! O,! ·~ Sju!_ml!,!t ~~~n'! tr!.ra~ry..:._ _I

2008 DONATIONS: Barry for Dave McC.·$250 Rolf A.-$50 Margaret D.·$40 Paddy -$70 Huddy $50

WHEN COLLECTING ISN'T JUST A HOBBY '

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Carnegie Centre announces a new group meeting Sun4ay evenings, beginning January~ Ill

I H.A. Hoarders Anonymous

6pm, Classroom II, 3rd floor. [Contact Rika Uto for more information

Jenny WaiChing Kwan MLA

Working for You 1070-1641 Commercial Dr V51 .. 3\'J

Plume: 775-0790 Fax: 775-0881

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WANTED Artwork for the Carnegie NcwRieucr

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Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry Cover nr1 -- Mnximum si1.c: 17crn (6-J/11") wide x 15 em (6") high Subject malter relevant to issues pertaining to the Downtown Eastside is preferred. but all work will be considered. ntack and white printing only Size restrictions must he considered (i.e .• if your piece is too large. it will be reduced and/or cropped to fil) All artists will receive credit for their work Originals will be returned to the artist aflcr hcing copied for publication. Rcnumeration: Carnegie volunteer tickets

Please moke submlsdons to: l,aul Taylor, F.dilor

I -DEllA htlps wUh: Plaonc & Sare Mailboxes Welfare Problem!; Landlord disputes; llousing problems &

. unsafe living conditions.

At 12 E~s~llasllngs Se. or call60.f-682-09J f

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"forgive and forget-- so we can move on". How far this approach is proper or not we should all take a look. Because using the wrong "solution" to resolve our problems will not bring a pretty outcome

What is forgiveness? .. .! low should a virtuous person behave? If one is satisfied that the wrongdoer's habit has been rectified, one may pardon him. If someone is perpetrating atrocities however, one has no indi­vidual right to excuse the wrongdoer because that wrongdoer has harmed innocent people. If a person commits atrocities on me alone, and if I

am satisfied that his nature has been transformed, it would be proper for me as a good person to show forgiveness. However, if his nature has not been rectified, my forgiveness may result in that person becoming even more of a reckless scoundrel and in such a case forgiveness would be considered as a sign of my weakness.

In collective li fe one has no right to forgive any­one ... Forgiveness is something personal; it is not a collective matter. Suppose you are a member of the Carnegie Association ... If someone harms the col­lective life of the Carnegie Community Centre and, by extension, sows distrust and hate-mongering in the wider community, you must not forgive them. Likewise, as you belong to the entire human race, you must not forgive anyone who harms humanity.

SOME OF TI IE KEY POINTS I) There is no forgiveness in collective life. If someone has harmed the society no individual has the right to forgive them. 2) Forgiveness is limited to individual life only-­even then it must be done only under certain special conditions. That is only if the guilty party has fully rectified their wrongdoing. 3) Rectification is a pre-requisite for forgiveness. If the wrongdoer has not corrected their defective be­havior then they cannot be forgiven. 4) Premature forgiveness results in further harm don·c to the society.

So the whole sense is that forgiveness is one particu­lar practice that can only be done under very limited or special circumstances. It is not something that can be handed out fi·eely or done indiscriminately. Ra­ther doing so will undermine the whole scene and create more problems and lead to more injustices.

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CAN WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO ... have been committed countless wrongdoings yet not an ounce of rectification has been done-- nor has there been any admittance of such misdeeds? Day afler day there have been so many opportuni­

ties to correct these things, but not one wrong has been undone. Nor has there been a peep about it . from those responsible for doing that damage. Those groupist kingpins who are to blame for not reinstat­ing those rights do not express any iota of repen-

tance for their wrongdoing. Yet they want that we should revere and follow them. The whole idea being that when someone is calling

out that 'so and so number of groupist honchos should be given a blanket pardon and forgiven en­tirely', then we should be alert and stand firm. All cannot forgive those who have harmed society and cannot forgive those who have failed to rectify their behavior. Such wrongdoers must not be pardoned. So when there has been not any hint at rectification and when not an iota of repentance bas been ex­pressed, then in that case where is thescope for for­giveness. Rather under such conditions we should pay heed to this wise, stern warning.

PRT -,With the guidelines ofPR Sarkar

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Questions borne of Reality Realized •

Must we all remain in the scope of indifference, leaning upon the post of apathy until the rot of it consumes us all?

How must we drown in the sea of faces, choices and utterings of those who condemn the idea of free?

Where is the path? Why can't we see it? Does it exist? And how best to walk it?

Noble incarnations of lost senses, now senseless from over-indulgence in sadism.

Crowning achievements laid at the feet of atrocious bore dam. Can we cope? Is there hope?

And who, I ask, is the one to answer these questions?

Surely not the doubting sons of such intolerant passion.

R.J .Sommers

Snow Removal from Sidewalks

The City of Vancouver reminds property owners that they are responsible for clearing their sidewalks of snow and ice by lOam on the morning following

.. a snowfall, except on Sunday. Property owners and occupiers who fail to remove

.. snow and ice as required by the bylaw may be fined, or the City may have the snow removed and bi II the owners or occupiers for the cost. Everyone is encouraged to clear their sidewalks

and help others who can ' t. FOR INFORMATION I COMPLAINTS:

Engineering Services - 604-871-6200

"0cJ)Jc'"(.L~..:.-z.! •. ~; ~ ·. ~ 1 ct,,;:cG''E'C c.o ~..~ , ' ,,,.-· . . .- ·' . , - ·~v·?'~GY.).) ,( ,y, .. .. -. -..r -1• •

~ ... -' ,,.........,. . ""'"'~i , f<~:l

: There s only one problem .. , ~\ ~

in the world. ~

We see all kinds of problems, wars and strife and everything;

One problem. It 's called ignorance.

Submitted by Yideha

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A CHANGE OF SEASON

Through the darkest nights l hear thunderous raindrops I hear wrestling branches in the trees I see limbs excrete leaves While I smell the fragrant fall.

Pau I Nosotti

HE REMEMBERS

He was sent to work, back in time He dug up one to many of his dead relatives' graves The sky was bruised black He memorized the scripts, and acted out the movies he wanted to see. Because they wanted his blood; they wanted him to be good. They laughed him off the stage. He was too narciss istic anyways. GOOD RIDDANCE!! He was plagued by society's ills He was never trusted They said "he's sick" and whispered with many voices, like a chorus of carcasses. Sometimes when his skin blisters he feels alive His shame tells more tales His love was sold for lies Rays of sunshine bring tears to his eyes. When he moves he brings the past with him unwilling to forget or leave it behind. Allegories and icons suffocate and surround , muting his voice that shouts "Let me out!" The demons that he holds inside reck havoc on his thoughts and his pride He longs to be happy and relaxed, imagining what it is I ike.

Paul Nosotti

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As the sacre tree tall and up right grows in the soil my roots also wind deeply into mother Earth to give me strength

as the sacred trees' branches reach up and out towards the sky

• as m prayer teach me to give thanks

as the sacred tree has many fruits to nourish and feed body and sou I I will nurture the sweet gifts

as the sacred tree its many leaves fa II to the ground in sacrifice to bring seasons of change speak my truth

as the sacred tree proves its worth to show me I, too am real to accept change and renewal as part of life

as the sacred tree at the center of the universe so will I choose harmony and balance firmly rooted

Betty A. Spinks

You are invited to see The House of Sand! When: Thursday, February 21 51 at 7:00pm Where: Park TheatTe, Vancouver Why: Because you enjoy a beautifully made movie that addresses the struggle and plight of women and struggle while supporting a great cause

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Cost: $10 per ticket, the great concessions at Park Theatre will be available

Thanks to a wonderful community member and sponsor House of Sand will have a special screening Thursday February 21st at 7:00pm at the Park Thea­tre. Tickets wi II be $1 0 and all net proceeds wi II be donated to the WISH Drop-In Centre. For the past 22 years WISH has provided a place of respite and safety for women working in the survival sex trade in Vancouver. Over the years WISH has expanded from serving coffee to a few women a few nights a week to serving dinner and meeting some of the basic needs of 100 to 150 participants each night, six nights a week. Staff and volunteers create an environment of acceptance and care where women can relax and have a hot meal, get assistance with referrals to shelters and other service providers, find some clean clothes, take a shower and meet with friends. WISH provides consistency in lives of women who constantly experience violence, trauma, and discrimination out on the street.

-~· I Frank Paul Inquiry Justice Walk

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Candlelight Walk, Meet at the Vancouver Art Gallery at 5:30pm. Opening prayers at 6:00pm

A peaceful candlelight rail;::. Let's walk together to show support for those who are working to­wards the truth in Frank Paul's case. Let's show our supp011 for justice, truth and dignity. No one should ever be treated as Frank Paul was treated on that fateful night of December 5, 1998. The route and the destination will be revealed at the starting point on the 6th of Feb.

We must make time in our busy lives to stand for this man, his family and for all those who have been mistreated and killed.

(604) 682-3269, Extension: 7718

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Doctor Sir Man

You chitter and you chatter and you say I'm insane And you know how to fix what's wrong in my brain

Then you fill me with pills you put to the test

ing they might help me with th~ 'but you don't tell me the rest

Along with this other shit you helped me to find So here now I ask you can you say for sure That you know my problem and that I' II be cured lf J continue to follow what you say is right

Will I have peace through this day and will I sleep this night

Well my Friend that you say you are

Seems that the oath that you signe. is the only proof so far

'Cause I forgot what you said about those books you read And the ones you wrote about what's inside my head

The script that you gave me I lost along the way I just can't hear you l'm so fucking far away

Now 1 don't want to believe hat you say I must

Do to be cool what to respect and trust

Because with or without your meds I feel

Nothing has changed inside my head it's real

So if you don't want to know me and you can't be my friend Except to exploit me so you have money to spend Then I don't need you for you provoke my rage I pray please come peace to write the next page.

Freedome

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This morning I dumped out my porta-potty, again-the potty my dad mailed to me back in the spring o 1995 when shipping charges were still reasonable. 1995 was the year that the Canada Assistance Plan got axed. Government fiscal restraint claimed that social assistance to the suspiciously lazy poor needed to be cut back. This would include cuts to educational incentives and investment in health care and hospitals. Now, I 0 years later, we are witness­ing privatization- meaning that our "care-less" gov­ernment has handed over many of our public servic­es, along with the public's money, to private corpo­rate contractors (who, in the interests of their profit and so-called "efficiency", care even less about people). Back to the porta-potty. In my life of limited

choices; I choose not to go down the hallway of an S.R.A. to defecate. My potty was plugged full of paper so I made a mental note to use less paper in order to prevent clogging. This is a useful metaphor about government public policy. Much paper is wasted in turning over our public services to be ma­naged by private contractors who plan to be more efficient- meaning for profit.

However, for us users of public services, there is no reduction in the use of form filling paper or hoops to jump through in order to "deserve" some­thing as basic and necessary as, for eg., affordable housing. Lack of a decent place to sleep, eat and defecate abandons many men, women and children to sleep and shit in the streets and to line up at chari­ties. I can only speculate on why it seems that wom­en and ch ildren aren't as visible as men in these line­ups, so r won't go into that here. C.C./\.P. could probably provide us with some reasons which will be more historically accurate than anything I might ruminate about. The Carnegie Community Action Project has the facts on the lack of decent and. af-:: fordable hotel rooms; S.R.A.s. I do recall hearing from an urban planning profes­

sor at U.B.C. that over the past five years, B.C. Housing has lost 2,000 units of social housing per year: 10,000 units in 5 years, lost. Perhaps I heard wrong. Could this really be so and if so, Why? Is the city more concerned about selling the land to devel­opers, for profit? There is no money to be made from public housing for the poor. Where will our shit go? Does our government

care? $250 million dollars sitting in an investment fund in Victoria. Did you hear that? Holy money-making shit! . Spent hen.

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THE HOT CHOCOLATE STORY A group of university graduates, well established in

their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to com­

plaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of it and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. Then, he told them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that al l the nice looking; expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to

the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups ...... and then you began eyeing each others cups. Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your

job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have neither defines nor changes the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate we have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Thanks for your blessings in 2007. And en­joy your hot choco late in 2008! Always remember ..

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just ntake the best of every­thing that tltey It ave!

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• Homelessness: doubled in Greater Vancouver be­tween 2002 and 2005 alone - there are now more than 2,000 people living on the streets or in shelters. Hundreds search through the garbage for food and things to seJJ every day. • Welfare: It's supposed to provide a minimum amount of money for basic necessities when people go through a hard time. But our provincial govern­ment made it even harder to get, and the rates are less than half the poverty line (not enough to rent a place to live and eat nutritious food). • Disease: Vancouver's poorest neighbourhood, the Downtown Eastside, has an HIV rate of 30% - the same as Botswana's. Other diseases like llepatitis C are rampant. • A Gold Medal for Highest Poverty Rate: British Columbi~ (our province) is a gold medalist when it comes to poverty - we've had highest child pover­ty rate in all of Canada four years in a row. • Solutions: It's not too late to make a difference before 20 I 0. Our governments need to invest more in things like a decent welfare program and social housing ... For a fraction of what it costs to deal with disease, malnutrition, addiction, and disorder. See World Class Poverty section for more informa­tion and sources. http://povertyolympics.ca/

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They are building the tallest building In Vancouver ! It's located right downtown.

The building will have 62

I floors,a large grocery store, 120-room hotel, restaurants,

® a spa, private access ~ residential units with a ~ penthouse on the 60th floor. ~ There are 6 residential units f. still for sale, ranging from 7

to 14 million dollars !

H 0 0 * t I t I _L

Main By Rick Nordar rr----------, s The b~ilding is called t the Shangri-La! Have you seen it Bonnie ? •

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Yeh! I've seen it. It's more social housing!

World Class Province, World Class Poverty

Dear Visitor, Welcome to Vancouver. You are coming to one of

the greatest cities in the world: eye-popping scenery, efficient services, moderate climate, relaxed and diverse population. The United Nations survey on livability rates Van­

couver in the top handful of cities on earth. And in 20 I 0, we're going to host the winter Olympics! What a great opportunity to enjoy Vancouver's at­tractions - including all the Olympic legacies, like new stadiums, highways and tourist sights. But one legacy that won't be so enjoyable is the

thousands of homeless people on the streets of Van­couver. You can't help seeing them as you walk around downtown, and in many other neighbour­hoods around the city. Unless we do something about this shameful situation, visitors in 20 I 0 will be treated to a city with more homeless people than athletes competing in the Games! Grinding poverty and growing homelessness are

happening despite some bo ld promises to create a positive Olympic legacy - promises such as build­ing more social housing, reducing homclessness, and not displacing poor people to make way for Olympics-driven development. So we are organizing new games that reflect the

unique local flavour of the 2010 host city - the Poverty Olympics, The first annual games will take place on Sunday February 3, in the Downtown East-

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side (Vancouver's poorest neighbourhood). We've asked the International Olympic Committee

to make these games part of the official 20 I 0 pro­gram. We hope that shining the international spot­light on the dark side of our prosperous city and province might finally convince our governments to take action. We hope, dear visitor that you' ll take a few minutes to look around ... Learn more about the poverty amid plenty ... Help us make change by tak ing some simple actions ... And don't forget to invite your friends to visit our fair city!

Sincerely, Poverty Olympics Organ izing Committee

http: //pove•·tyolyrn pics.ca/

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Organizing Committee, Pover·ty Olympics c/o Carnegie Centre, 40 1 Main St., Vancouver, BC V6A 2T7; Phone 604729-2380

Jacques Rogge and Members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Chateau de Vidy,. I 007 Lausanne, Switzerland

Ocar Mr. Rogge and Committee Members: - - •

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I am wri ting on behalf of the Organis ing Committee for the I 51 Annual Poverty Olympics, to be held on

rd · February 3 . 2008 m Vancouver, Canada. The Po-verty Olympics will highlight the completely unne­cessary 'world class' levels of poverty and home­lessness in Vancouver and British Columbia. The Government of British Co lumbia boasted a

budget surplus of$4.1 billion last year. and is pour­ing about $4.5 billion into Olympic-related facilities and services. Yet I 0.000 people arc homeless in BC: over 2000 of them are in Vancouver, host of the 20 10 Winter Olympics. One in five children live in pove1ty in BC, wh ich has the highest ch ild poverty rate in Canada for the fourth year in a row. Abori­ginal ch ildren li ving off reserve are even poorer with a poverty rate almost twice that for non­Aboriginal children. In Vancouver, supposedly a world-class city, many people scrounge through garbage bins for food and things to sell. In the Downtown Eastside the HIV rate is the same as Botswana's. Our committee is asking you to press our federal

and provincial governments to implement the un­animous recommendations of the Inner City Inclu­sive Housing Table. especially recommendations to increase welfare (income assistance) rates by 50%, end the barriers to getting on welfare that are mak­ing people homeless. and to build 3200 units of new housing before the Garnes in 20 I 0. So far, the four partners of the 20 I 0 Winter Games

(VANOC. the Cirv of Vancouver. the Province of • •

British Columbia, and the Government of Canada) have failed to live up to their Olympic promises of community sustainabi lity, even though the 2010 Winter Games were awarded to Vancouver on the basis of their pledge to build more social housing, protect the city's rental housing and ensure no-one would be displaced or left homeless because of the Games.

Our sen ior governments have such huge budget surpluses. They can afford to make a legacy of 20 I 0 ending_ rather than increasing, poverty and home­lessness. The Olympic creed states. "the most im­portant thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part." That is all we want - the poorest people in BC want the opportunity to "take part." to participate in the economic and cultural life here.

Jean Swanson. on behalf of the Organizing Com­mittee, Poverty Olympics

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FOOD FAMILY FUN TORCH MASCOTS

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MEDALS GAMES - poverty line high jump - welfare hurdles

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