Figge This

While the world economy continues to slide precipitously down The Great Rabbit Hole (possibly of all time) and Vancouver replenishes its reputation as Crime City and the Bishop announces he'll take some time to re-examine the evidence of the Holocaust...while all that and so much more is bringing joy to our hearts on a regular basis...

think on this:

Jennifer Figge, a 56 year old American woman is blithely swimming the Atlantic.

There's the picture, here's the story.

Read it, marvel, say "Jennifer rocks!" and have a kick-back Sunday...

MEAN STREETS

Yesterday's blog entry, "Six," about how effective all our agencies are in fighting crime, received some excellent comments and I encourage you to read them.

Then, check out Vancouver Sun writer Kim Bolan's blog on this topic.

Today the Province is one big crime sheet. Take downs by hordes of swarming cops, more on the Langley mall shoot-out, 2 young people killed by a hit-and-run idiot near Granville Island.

What used to be another cheesy Hollywood movie being filmed on our streets is now the real deal. Lucky us.

What did the day Sergeant used to say every morning on "Hill Street Blues?" Something like, "Careful out there..."

Clown School

The City of Vancouver has cancelled the so-called "Ambassadors" plan for private security guards downtown.

They were right to do so.

Fund the police to patrol on foot.

If the Board of Trade or the Downtown Business Association wants to pay for these Keystone Cops, they are free waste to their own money.

Victor on the Hypocrisy of the BCTF

In its ideological war with Gordon Campbell, the BC Teachers'
Federation enters a politically incorrect killing field with its
campaign against standard testing. One of the Fed's arguments is that
standardized testing is an elitist assault on ESL (English as a Second
Language) students. In other words, white kids can handle it but our
brown, yellow, black, red whatever kids can't.

Oh really?

Mark the following on your calendar for June. When the BC scholarships
are announced for the brightest kids in BC, 90 per cent of those
smiling photos of winners in your local paper will be Asian kids. Yep.
The same ones who are traumatized by testing.

The same nonsense is at play in the Fed's argument about testing being
discriminatory to kids in the lower economic rungs of BC society.
Listen up, oh fatass teachers, The most miserable enclaves of urban
poverty in BC before World War 2 were our Chinatowns. Kids lived in
fetid rooms above their parents tiny grocery stores and laundries.They
helped out after doing their homework and they too scored at the top
of their classes. These same poor kids became captains of industry and
chancellors of universities . They were kindred spirits with the
Jewish kids in Hell's Kitchen,New York, who, 80 years ago helped their
Yiddish speaking father sell apples on a push cart and went on to
create wealth and opportunity for millions of Americans.

So, Fatbutters, don't hang your terror of personal accountability on
the backs of kids who may stumble in English or look different. Don't
insult them by making them foot soldiers in your war of lethargy. They
will go on to thrive in competitive careers while you cower in
protected mediocrity.

My Sicilian grandfather(were he here), my Chinese wife and I consider
you to be a sad joke.