Smile - You're in the Best Place in the World

Several friends have encourage me to post this T-shirt. Who am I to argue with an idea whose time has come?

Is Your Pin Legit, Louie?

When it comes to the immense scam called 2010, who can say whose cousin gets which contracts for whose balloons?

The latest slapstick comes from The Department of Pins.

Oy vey, der made in Taiwan, not really a China!

I don't know, folks, I was in Taiwan a few years ago, and in spite of Canada's refusal to recognize it as a country, it looked remarkably like a country.

And why must 2010 tchatchkas be made in the mystic east anyway?

God forbid some enterprising and socially conscious fella would hire a hundred homeless or poor or struggling souls to start the Great Canadian Pin Factory, and T-shirts and ookpiks and napkins...

God forbid Vanoc or the Preem or the Board of Trade would think of such a thing.

How about Sam? He's an enterprising fellow. Between opening brothels and drug substitution centres, I'm sure he could get something going along this line. I have faith.

Justice Shrouded Again in Cloaks & Daggers

The judiciary, never too misguided for most reasonable citizens, has hit a new low.

The public, the media and the accused were all held OUT of a closed hearing yesterday in the Basi/Virk affair.

If ever a case needed some clean, clear backyard airing this would be it.

Instead, with taste and timing so exquisitely perfect, Justice Elizabeth Bennett has shrouded this fiasco in even more secrecy.

No doubt there are clever legalistic rationales for all of this.

But none can make up for the immense residue of mistrust by the endless delays and obfuscations in a case that is rare, confusing and central to the good governance of the Province.

Victor Discovers the real Meaning of a Sammy Christmas

Hi Mensche:

I am so deeply ashamed.

Like many, I heard about the coke addict who stole the Christmas presents from the room of a seriously ill girl in Children's' Hospital. I heard, from the Official On-duty Police Spokesperson (OOPs for short) that the thief was "known to police and had a rap sheet going back to 1987'.

Let's call him "The Grunge Who Mainlined Christmas"

At first, I was lulled into the media spin that this was some sort of Grinch story. You know. Bad guy and victim. A Christmas fable.

But then I looked in the heavens, to the Star of Sam and realized that the real victim was the coke-head.

Portraying the seriously ill girl as a victim was Holiday Season Hokey.

No. The Sam Star told me that Mr. 20-year Cokehead was a victim of all of us. In our greed, we soldiered on since 1987, ignoring his real cravings.

You see, what he really wants is a steady job, sensible shoes, membership in the Rotary Club, daily flossing, eating a balanced diet from all the major food groups.

He's simply been stealing and doing nose candy while working on his resume since Mulroney was Prime Monster.

But! There is hope for Mainline Grunge.

It is called the Sam Plan.

First, we give him a free apartment for two years. No rules.

During that time, we give him free substitute drugs.

This brings us to 2010.

Having lost his social skills, he may be lacking on pickup lines.

No Problem.

There will be Comfort Women in Vancouver in 2010. Sam is "open" to discussing the idea of legalized brothels for the Olympics.

Interesting.

In a city that has a 30 percent Chinese population, Parapathetic Sam thinks the invading hordes of tourists in 2010 should have the same options that the Japanese army had in Nanking.

Carole - Just Do It!

Of course, Carole Taylor would run - and win handily - as an independent candidate for City Mayor.

First, she would have to do that because of the incredible botch-up by the NPA. Almost every one of the NPA movers and shakers with whom I have spoken in recent months detest - yes, that's right, detest - Mr. Sullivan.

Like so many Vancouverites, they saw quickly through The Nutty One's sham presentation to his selfish core. They have found him to be an embarrassment and, as we say in Shakespeare, they wish him gone.

But being Back Room Boys, slithering amongst the shadows of the Mahogany Tables and Leather Divans, they lack the fibre to simply tell the poor fella to move on.

"Hey Sam, you've had fun and your day in the sun, now quietly go somewhere and make some money and let us find a real Mayor who actually knows how to work with people and accomplish real things for a real city."

No. That conversation is not going to happen, although this is the stuff the NPA Movers and Shakers dream of in their restless sleep.

Second, she will have no trouble distancing herself from His Pettiness and doing so gracefully.

Miro Cernetig tells us this morning that "For weeks, Taylor has avoided the mayor's entreaties for a meeting."

What's so surprising about that?

His own staff won't meet with him.

The mayor calls a meeting and key players refuse to show.

Why?

Because they know - and by now, you and I and all of Retro Vancouver knows - that the mayor is doctrinaire, frozen and incapable of communication and conciliation. He gets something passing for an idea in his head and there it sits, never to be lodged or even gently nudged to the right or left by any reasonable argument or consideration.

The wheelchair long ago lost its emotive power.

At a wedding last summer, a total stranger, a very, very, very successful realtor turned to me over dinner and said apropos of absolutely nothing, "I think Sam Sullivan is evil!" The table applauded.

At a fundraiser lunch at a swanky hotel last month, a total stranger, a very successful banker, turned to me as Sam was about to make another fatuous speech and said, "When this guy was first elected, I thought we could be proud as a city because we chose a guy in a wheelchair. But pretty soon I saw how self-involved he was and how it's All About Sam. He's useless."

The real tragedy here is that Sullivan is the head of the worst council in living memory.

If Carole Taylor were to mount a campaign called The New Slate and fill it with real candidates - people with some idea of how government works and what the city needs to get busy doing - she and they would win hands down and clean house entirely.

The NPA, Vision and Cope have all had their day and it is costing us mightily.

How much we ache for real councillors with smarts and knowledge and wit.

The Boob Show must go.

Brad's Not for Burning

Someday soon the tabs will get tired of Branjolina and move on to the next world-weary celebs.

In the meantime, we can marvel a bit at a Brad Pitt with a brain and a social conscience.

Mr. Pitt has long had a love affair with the city of New Orleans. He is now repaying that debt in smart fashion.

"Brad Pitt Commissions Designs for New Orleans"

Read this piece and you can't help but be impressed by what the man is doing and the way he is doing it.

We Are Not Alone

And all this time I thought Tranclunk was the only system in the world dumb enough to not have turnstiles, gates and ticket exits.

I was wrong.

Top of the We Trust You list has been Los Angeles, which, as it turns out, is not so angelic after all.

"The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted last week to take the first step toward installing 275 ticket gates on the entire 17.4-mile subway and at many light-rail stations."

The NY Times story is called "An End to the Free Ride on Trains in Los Angeles," and it can be read in its entirety here.

Retro Vancouver leaders take note.

Miles and 'Trane

AN INVITATION TO TAKE CARE OF OUR CHILDREN

THIS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MESSAGE WAS SENT IN A COMMENT ON YESTERDAY'S POST "NUMBERING OUR ILLS, PART I."

PLEASE READ IT AND REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT.

The list of supporters for Jordans Principle has now grown to over 800.

A private members motion in support of Jordans Principle is expected to pass though the House of Commons on December 12, 2007 - this creates a MORAL duty on the federal government to implement it but not a legal one.

As the Canadian Paediatric Society reports -no province or territory has taken the step of adopting or implementing Jordans Principle meaning that First Nations children across the country are routinely denied government otherwise available to Canadian children.

You can help - register your personal or organizational support for Jordan's Principle at www.fncaringsociety.com and let your MP and MLA know that now is the time to fully implement Jordan's Principle and end this needless discrimination against First Nations children.

Your action is the best memorial to Jordan and his family.

ATTENTIONE, SI PREGA

I have slightly altered the front page of the blog so that you can now scroll through the most recent 20 posts without bothering to click "older posts," as the very phrase, "older posts," conjures up for many of us a sight more grizzly than ... well ... yes, that bad.

Some Good Signs

For so many years now, I felt that I was one of a handful of voices crying in the wilderness.

When would the Harm Seduction strategies be exposed for the muddle-headed, silver bullet dreaming, uncaring and ineffective mistakes that many of us knew them to be?

When would drug addiction treatment be recognized, funded and welcomed?

Well, perhaps I am suffering from a small and forgivable case of optimism these days, but I am seeing some signs of hope.

1. Susie and Robert Ruttan have worked tirelessly with their group, From Grief to Action, to bring a therapeutic community-styled residential treatment program to BC. Portage, which has been serving the cause for 30 years now in Quebec is on track to open a facility in Keremeos.

That's the good news. The bad news is much more money is needed to bring this important reality to life. Help them.

2. MLA Lorne Mayencourt has been working tirelessly to open a similar program near Prince George, this one modelled on the San Patrignano success.

3. Alex Tsakumis writes with great passion on a regular basis in 24 Hours about the dreadful misguided ideas flowing from City Hall and the office of The Nutty Mayor.

4. Justice Wallace Craig maintains a steady flow of informed and knowledgeable insight on these subjects in his column in the North Shore News.

5. More and more people from every walk of life, wherever I wander these days tell me that they are appalled at the drivel and lies and fake statistics and self-serving spin coming from the Harm Seduction, Free Needles, Free Drugs, Free Substitutes, Clean Shooting Galleries people who are causing immense public harm, growing the problems exponentially and personally profiting from the continuation and expansion of The Misery Biz.

More and more people everywhere in our communities are demanding Prevention, Enforcement and Treatment. Remember those? They were the other 3 pillars in the endlessly promoted - but hardly realized - Four Pillars approach.

The way the official voices speak of the Four Pillars you would think this is Torah handed directly down from God. Philip Owen is God? We're in deep trouble, kids.

Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly the tide is turning.

Do whatever you can as often as you can to convince your friends and neighbours and even those poor blighted souls who have been elected to office that Treatment is crucial, that Treatment is affordable, that Treatment is Now.

"I Only Shoot People To Kill Them"

Well, it's good to see that at least some people in this province take their work seriously.

On the other hand...

The author of this marvelous boast has just pleaded guilty to killing someone.

The Victoria judge sentenced this avowed career hitman (very young and ambitious for a contract killer, nevertheless...) to "the "maximum youth penalty of 10 years with no more than six to be served in custody. With time already spent in custody, his sentence was reduced to four years."

Am I following this correctly?

Hitman, who is also on charges of conspiracy to commit 2 more murders, pleads guilty to a planned murder, gets not more than 6 in custody, reduced to 4 because of time served????

And the judiciary wonder - if in fact they do wonder - why the public and the police are so frustrated with them.

And the cry-babies of the universe scream about Harper's Get Tough on Crime proposals.

True, we don't need little pot smokers crowing up the jails.

But we do need to sentence truly dangerous, antisocial criminal sociopaths to very long, long, long prison terms.

Is it that difficult to distinguish between silly people and dangerous people?

Taser Murder - Chapter 5

Examine the headline:

'MOUNTIES DELAYED CPR FOR DYING MAN."

"Delayed?????"

I didn't know they even considered for a nano-second CPR.

So now we learn that when the paramedics arrived and quickly determined (Have you ever had cause to call on paramedics? I have. Twice. They are the most amazing, efficient,competent and caring people I have ever met! If you or someone near you ever has am emergent health issue, do NOT drive or call a taxi...call 911 and call it right smart.) that Robert Dziekanski had no breath and no pulse.

The paramedics asked the cop/thugs to take off the handcuffs. At first they refused.

Why are these disgraces still in uniform?

Fail My Kid??? Oh no you don't...

What has Education Minister Shirley Bond been smoking?

Someone check her meds quick. Maybe it's too much chalk dust.

Bond has had the temerity to ask BC teachers to consider not actually passing some illiterate kid onto the next grade if he or she can't read.

Imagine!

Failing someone! Shocking. How wounding to the little dear's self esteem.

Only yesterday at work we were having this exact conversation. I was recalling that in high school I was in something called "the A class." Others, with less academic achievement were in the B class and C class and D class. How wounding, how permanently damaging.

Of course, you could always work a little harder and aspire to join the A class.

Oh...but then, you would have to write and pass tests, just like in the real world.

But the BCTF won't let you write and pass tests. You might feel bad about something.

Minister Bond is clearly out of step with the times.

And for that, in this rare instance, we can be mildly thankful.

Numbering Our Ills, Part I

Whether you believe in the current numbers being offered about child poverty in BC or not, there is is no qeustion that we are failing far too many in our province today.

There is also no question about where the buck stops.

Daphne Bramham's excellent editorial in today's Sun brings clear focus to the issue.

The piece also brought some new information and small enlightenment. I was not aware until this morning of what has been called "Jordan's Principle."

"Jordan's Principle is named for a first nations child with multiple medical needs who died while federal and provincial agencies debated over who should pay for his care. Jordan's Principle, which is advocated by more than 600 service agencies across the country, puts the onus on the government of first contact to provide help without delay."

This principle is, of course, observed more often in its avoidance than its fulfillment.

When the Premier returns from his latest Asia carpetbagging, perhaps someone might ask him to attend to the needs of local children.

Numbering Our Ills, Part II

It's all a numbers game.

Apparently.

First, there is the argument, raging in some circles, about whether the number of people with HIV/AIDS is 33 Million or 40 Million.

No doubt that will be important to the 7 Million human beings who may be unaccounted for.

But for the rest of us, this disaster remains an overwhelming shame and heartache.

Ignorance and selfishness hold the day.

In thousands of African villages, women have a "Sophie's Choice." Either take a beating or take a rape from an undoubtedly infected man.

Like the snail and the border collie, we are programmed to reproduce. Unlike invertebrates and others, we do have the power to reason and on occasion we actually employ this gift. Unfortunately, the occasions are not nearly frequent enough.

We also have the capability to provide antiretroviral drugs at affordable costs. Unfortunately, we are a greedy lot and we often lack the willingness to perform this small act of charity.

The problem is this - providing such medicines is NOT an act of charity. It is an act of necessity, not just for the women and men and children infected and at risk, but for all of us who dare to call ourselves human.

Write Your Own Dark Comedy

The BC Government is hiring more Child Protection Workers.

How do I know?

I saw their ad this morning in the Sun on page H4.

It's under the banner "Britsh Columbia/ BC Public Service: WHERE IDEAS WORK."

Hahahahaha...

Wait...I forgot.

The provincial logo tells me: "British Columbia: The Best Place on Earth."

Hahahahaha...

West Side Story - America

Rita Moreno, who almost committed suicide when Brando threw her aside, has won an Oscar (for this role as Anita in West Side Story), an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony. What an amazing performer.

Bing Crosby

Written by a Russian Jew from poorest neighbourhoods of New York City while playing amongst the palm trees of Los Angeles, this Irving Berlin classic plays havoc with the adage, "Write what you know." Ha!

Child Poverty - The Other Side of the Argument

Walter Schulz has a completely different take on the subect of Child Poverty in BC than I. He posted the following the day before I posted my item on the subject, which you can read here.

I don't agree with him, but I think his points are well made and that his opposing position is worth seeing. I thank him for letting me reproduce this from his blog.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Exaggerating child poverty.

The BC Child and Youth Advocacy Coalition is calling on the BC government to do something now to reduce child poverty, with almost 21 percent of kids in the province living in poverty. The national anti poverty group, Campaign 2000 set the poverty line at $21,000 for two people living in a city of 500,000 or more, and $32,000 for a family of four living in such a community. The Tyee has also commented suggesting that one in five B.C. children is poor, making the province’s child poverty rate the highest in Canada for the fourth consecutive year.Hold on for just one darn minute.One in five B.C. children living in poverty???$21,000 for two people or $32,000 for a family of four is poverty????What these three news items are trying to described isn't poverty; they're describing instead income inequality. When they use Stats Canada's low income cut off as the measurement for poverty what they are really doing is comparing how people are living relative to other Canadians. The low income cut off method has never been considered a poverty line by Statistics Canada. "Statistics Canada has clearly and consistently emphasized, since their publication began over 25 years ago, that the LICOs are quite different from measures of poverty". If a family doesn't have a colour television or a cell phone are they now considered poor?

These social activists need to give their heads a shake.To say that one in every five children is living in poverty in British Columbia, is quite frankly - bullshit!And what are they calling on the BC government to do to reduce this so called "child poverty"?They want the minimum wage raised to $10.50/hour, eliminate the $6.00/hour training wage and to increase BC's welfare rates.Well of course they do.

The BC Government in its 2007 budget already increased welfare rates for all those on assistance.

British Columbia already has the lowest income tax rates in Canada for low-income earners. In fact, those earning under $16,000 a year pay no provincial income tax.

Since 2001 the B.C. economy has created over new 370,000 jobs and we have the lowest unemployment rate in almost 40 years! (4.4% in BC and 4.1% in Vancouver)

British Columbia already has the highest general minimum wage rate of all the provinces.

BC's 2006 budget pledged $421 million over four years to strengthen supports for children.

For social activists to be constantly overstating the problem of poverty rates amongst children in British Columbia does a disservice to those who are most in need. Despite all the rhetoric and political posturing from these groups, (and when haven't these groups called on the BC liberal government to give more money to social causes?) - BC has done an excellent job of helping those who are most in need.