Two for The Sun

Daphne Bramham and Miro Cernetig have written excellent pieces in this morning's paper.

Bramham spells out the new and growing tactic amongst the politicos and mandarins of launching expensive lawsuits against their critics.

Nanaimo, Kent, Harrison, and Langford are four of the municipalities mentioned.

In each case, a citizen asks legitimate questions of the powers-that-be. In case, the powers sue.

They are emboldened to do so by a 2004 provincial law that allows for something called a SLAPP - a Strategic Lawsuit against Public Participation.

But wait.

Isn't public participation a virtue in a healthy democracy?

Oh, I forgot, in BC and Canerda, "healthy democracy" is becoming as oxymoronic as Catholic University, happy marriage, military intelligence and liquor control board.

Cernetig rightly points out that the millions of dollars and years of abject failure in the DTES call for a new approach, perhaps one overseer or czar for all things DTES.

Exceellent piece and good idea.

But who?

Michael Clague is mentioned. Bad idea. Clague was the director of the Carnegie Centre for years, which means he made a healthy living in the midst of the madness.

No, we need someone completely outside the sphere.

Michael Geller whom is running for city council would do a great job.

Or someone from another side of the continent, who owes no favours.

Whoever it is, sooner is better than later.

Genius - From another Era

Victor Catches a Whiff of Americana

The CEO of Pepsi is a woman named Indra Nooyi. She was raised in India, has powered Pepsi past Coke in stock markets, is praised and envied by CEOs for her corporate brilliance and touted for a Cabinet seat in Washington. Oh, she's also an active, devoted mother.

I don't know what Mr. Nooyi does but I know this. If he came to Pepsi shareholders meeting and announced that he planned to be Pepsi's next president because he had slept with Mrs. Nooyi, fathered her kids and therefore was qualified to do her job, he'd be laughed out of the room.

Melinda Gates is Bill's wife. They've been married since 1994 and have three kids. Melinda runs the Gates Foundation which is on target to amass $100 billion. It was her idea. But if Microsoft were to announce she was going to be the next CEO because she was married to Bill and they had kids and they talked a lot and you know blah,blah.blah.....Well the stocks would tumble and the business writers would slap their thighs in laughing hysteria.

So why does Hillary have a large following among women? Her only unchallenged credential is being married to Bill. She flunked law school bar tests, never practiced law until her husband gave her a job when he was governor of Arkansas, meddled in health care with disastrous results(not her job) when she was First Lady. Her resume is so thin she has to tell whoppers like being under sniper fire in Bosnia and brokering peace talks in Northern Ireland. She then explains these preposterous lies as "mis-remembering"

So. A liar with memory problems is the best candidate female America can offer? Please.

She should be viewed with hostility by all women who have built their own careers. The message of her candidacy is that if women want to make it, the first step is to marry right. How empowering.

Yet, polls show a huge following among females. I don't get it.

Yes, I understand the sentiment among women that says its a woman's turn to be President. I don't agree with it, but I understand it. I don't think "getting one's turn"is a qualification, other than for children, waiting for a swing in a playground. America has never had an Italian president. Should Italians get a turn. Poles? Amputees?

As for the notion that being married to somebody means you can do their job, the concept is too ludicrous for comment. I've known a number of talented women with great careers. I've had relationships with some of them and we talked about our work. That doesn't mean for a second, that they could do my job. Nor could I have done theirs.

There is some good news in all of this. The black candidate is being castigated for being an elitist. Wow. A black elitist. Finally! I'm old enough to remember that blacks couldn't stay in certain Canadian hotels and now they're elitists.

Thanks for that Hillary.

Good Night and Good Luck

Gas Prices Send Surge of Riders to Mass Transit
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
Cities with long-established public transit systems and areas with a strong driving culture are both reporting increases in ridership of buses and trains.

So reads a NY Times headline today.

Of course, that couldn't happen in Meekrow Vancouver because we have Transclunk, one of the last efficient systems in the known universe.

America at the Crossroads

Barak Obama is poised to win the Democratic nomination.

All things are possible in primaries and elections, so this is not a given, but it is looking pretty solid.

I like and admire Hillary Clinton.

But I am saddened by the stench of flop sweat in her recent racial comments on voting patterns.

Let's say Obama wins.

America, rocked by the Iraq War, Afghanistan, recession, bad schools, lack of universal health coverage for its citizens and the worst reputation it has ever held in the rest of the world, is at yet another historic moment.

Obama is not the second coming of the messiah, but he is different and refreshing and youthful and full of hope and vigor.

How dreadful would it be for American voters to turn their faces away from the future and vote for McCain?

McCain is the poster boy for The Past. He is old and tired and closed in a pen of stale and failing ideas.

Obama may have much to learn as a leader, but he is the best hope for healthy new beginnings.

I hope he wins.

Tales of Nitties & Titties

First the Nitties:

Vancouver City Councillor, B.C. Lee, will not run again. Boo effing Hoo.

Lee was a total disgrace from the word Go. He did nothing, zilch, zero on his three years on council.

The Nutty Mayor praised Lee's contributions. 'Nuff said.

Arthur Griffiths, a man who never met a deal he couldn't screw up, will run for the BC Liberals. Oh, the excitement.

Griffiths, like Paris Hilton only without the attributes, is famous for being famous. He is the son of a wealthy successful man, who has not mirrored his father's considerable accomplishments.

But Gord likes to be near wealth and power, so Griffiths should suit his limited tastes just fine.

Now, the Titties:

Canwest assigned no less than FIVE journalists and devoted one entire page to politicians and their personal love lives and sex romps. Page A4 no less.

People fall in and out of love. People have sex. Get over it.

Will I soon find The Sun at my Safeway checkout next to The Enquirer, The Star, Oprah, People and all those other illuminating journals?

Children & Families Ministry Hits New Low

I have been writing a great deal of late on the dissater area known as the BC Ministry of Children & Family's. I have also been calling for the resignation of the dead-at-the-wheel Minister, Tom Christensen.

But today's story by Ethan Baron in The Province really tops it all.

The Headline reads thus: "Five girls in care have been selling sex on Craigslist, police say."

The story can be read here.

The last line reads thus:

"The children's ministry and Craigslist did not provide interviews requested by The Province."

Email your Premier.

The Evil Twin

What's more frightening - Mother Nature or the Government of Man?

Myanmar has the answer for you.

After an estimated 100,000 dead and as many as 1.5 million facing starvation and disease, the military junta that rules old Burma is doing everything in its considerable power to NOT allow foreign aid to enter the stricken country.

Of course, this is hardly the first time in history this has happened. It is, in fact, an oft-repeated story. How many progressive steps forward in science and technology, for example, have been kept from impoverished people thanks only to political will?

For the Myanmar tragedy, read this morning's NY Times piece here.

Eddie Arnold - R.I.P.

Procedural

Dear Bloggists,

If I post an item that is headlined Victor or Liz or Susan or Ben or someone else that means that I am posting a commentary from a friend.

As I am posting this item on my blog, I am the host and therefore responsible for the posting.

But please understand that that these items are opinions of others.

Have I made this clear as mud? Great.

Victor Shops Candjun, eh?

I wandered into the Bay yesterday and finally saw the Olympic unees. Everybody has a subjective take on the design. I think they look like camouflage suits for an army on acid but Georgio Armani hasn't called me lately for fashion advice so what do I know?

My real gripe is with the rationale for the design that I've heard from the official spokespeople. Two themes come forward. First, these designs are based on an interpretation of the traditional Chinese folklore elements , i.e. fire, water etc.

The second rationale is that we are sending a message that Canada is multicultural.

Regarding the first theme, why are we putting Chinese iconography on our unees? When the Chinese come here in 2010, I don't think their uniforms will contain subtle renderings of Canadian folklore (donuts, beavers, sleeping senators). That's because China, unlike Canada, doesn't suck up.

The second rationale is both arrogant and ignorant. Arrogant because we assume China, or any other country for that matter, gives a fig about Canada's ethnic makeup. Ignorant because the Chinese are no great fans of multiculturalism. In China, the Han Chinese make up 92 per cent of the population with the other 8 per cent containing over 40 minorities. China tolerates minorities but keeps them on a tight leash (sometimes very tight as in Tibet but this is the exception). China believes that unfettered multiculturalism can be a destabilizing influence on national unity. They may have a point there. In any case, China will be supremely indifferent and perhaps annoyed at our less than subtle attempts to preach?brag?

Editor, Please

Friend Ben writes The Province:

Letter to the Editor,

Re: Boy, 11, rouses building's tenants – The Province, Page A3 - Thursday, May 8, 2008

NORTH VANCOUVER: Three elderly women die as flames sweep through apartments

I take issue with the manner in which the fatal fire in North Vancouver has been handled by your newspaper and by local television.

Frank Luba's hard news story is certainly well-written, but the newspaper has inverted the important elements in an offensive way. Three elderly women died. The boy as hero should only be a silver-lining sidebar to a very sad lead story. At the very least, the headline and kicker should have been reversed. More important, media members in general should strive to keep news matters in an appropriate perspective, rather than spin stories in a way that diminishes the value of victims and takes attention away from what should be the central points. Coverage like that encourages readers and viewers to disregard the bigger picture. And that is a very dangerous thing for society to do.

Bentley Doyle

Vancouver, BC

The Greatest Wool over the Most Eyes

Insite is a train wreck that cannot be stopped.

This may be the last thing I ever say about this obscenity.

Gordon Campbell, Mike Harcourt, Philip Owen, Peter Ladner, Gregor Robertson, Raymond Louie, Barbara Jaffe, the Sun editorial board, Larry Campbell - they are all singing the same tune.

"Harper is playing politics with people's lives. Harper is evil. Insite is wonderful. The science proves it."

They are all wrong. They are all full of it.

Both the Campbells, Harcourt, Owen, none of them has ever put one red cent or one moment of effort into supporting treatment.

But they are completely behind this tragic waste of time and money.

99% of all citizens that I have ever met or talked to detest Insite.

But this is the current mythology and there's no stopping it.

And nobody wants to hear the opposing point of view.

Such is the state of our enlightened democracy.

Sheep.

I'm tired of listening to my own nagging on this subject. I feel that I and a handful of police and judges and ordinary citizens and knowledgeable cleaned-up addicts are tiny voices dying in the wind tunnel of madness.

Basta. Enough.

I can't talk about this any more. It's making me sick.

I will support real treatment where ever I may see it, and on the subject of Insite, I will put on a cracked smile and remain mute.

Genius in our Midst

When Bill Reid died in 1998, I said publicly that we often do not notice when Mozart walks among us.

I believed then and I believe now that Reid was a brilliant artist.

The Haida Gwai, which can be seen at YVR or at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC, and the Raven, on display at the Museum of Anthropology, are stunning, inspiring works.

Congratulations to all who worked so hard to open tonight the new Bill Reid Gallery on Hornby St.

James Taylor - You've Got a Friend

Transclunk to the Rescue

Transclunk is really special, isn't it?

A girl is attacked and robbed at one of Skytrain's wonderful freeloader stations.

Good news. Clunksville has a videotape.

Bad News. Tape gets recycled every two hours. Solly. No footage of crime. No charges. You have back luck, Lady.

But look, more good news.

Clunkerama announces that within a year it will have...wait for it...digital equipment that will record for...gasp...7 days!

Hahahaha....

Every kid in the cafeteria at the school where I work has a wafer sized electronic gadget that can send and receive videos, movies, music and messages from and to the entire universe in nono-seconds wirelessly.

But Clunkkopf will take a year to fix their little problem.

On the next page to this story, the government of Canada has a half-page ad telling us that our safety is their first concern.

Tell it to the girl who was attacked and robbed. Tell it to her family. Tell it to Clunktown.

What'$ in a Name?

Dr. Ron Burnett has written an interesting and persuasive argument in the op-ed page of the Sun today about why Emily Carr - he is the President - now rightly designated a University.

You may have noticed that two weeks ago, the Premier went on a bit of a roll: every day for five days in a row, he named yet another college now a university - Capilano, Malispina, Kwantlen, Emily Carr, and...and...I forget.

No doubt every one is very proud and excited. Even though almost nobody can figure out what the point was for doing all this renaming.

But be assured that within a very short time the Law of Unintended Consequences will set in and the You and I will be paying mightily for the Premier's Naming Week.

Very soon, all those instructors at colleges who have been earning $70K or $90K will wake up and realize that they are now Professors at Universities and they will demand parity, and $90K won't be nearly enough to make them feel good about themselves. Better $125K or such.

Nice move. Gord.

Child Care is Our Darkest Shame - But, hey, have another latte...

Following on my recent postings and Province editorial about Child Care in BC...

Today, BC's Auditor-General, John Doyle, released a scathing report of exactly this subject. He says the government has no idea how anybody in their care is doing.

According to Doyle's report, more than half the children in care are aboriginal, the government has no idea which programs that they pay for are working and which are not, which services are needed, how many social or other workers are necessary and so on.

Of course, the absolute fool, Tim Christensen, who has been the Minister of this Disaster, for far too long, quickly defended his efforts.

Resign Tim. You're not cutting it. Children are suffering while you dither.

At the same time, the Federal Auditor-General, Sheila Fraser pointed out that children living on reserves are eight times more likely to receive child welfare services than those not on reserves.

Why do we as a nation continue to allow this monstrosity to exist?

Why do the first nations people allow their own children to suffer so badly?

No doubt I am a racist or something worse for asking these dreadful questions.

No Comp for Land? Welcome to Russia

VICTORIA -- The B.C. government has quietly introduced legislation that would give it the formal right to retake control of certain public lands without paying compensation.

There's your opening paragraph in the business section of this morning's Sun.

Read the whole article and then please tell me what this is about.

Can you say, "Draconian," boys & girls?

Delgado Knows

Immediately below is yestserday's post about the Maritime Museum.

Today, the Sun quotes former director Jim Delgado extensively on how the City has gone out of its way to destroy the Museum.

Delgado is practically a genius - a diver, a writer, a photographer, a lecturer and a museum curator. He was, simply put, one of the best people in this city for many years. We were lucky to have him.

He fled a few years ago to Texas, to a much better job.

I remember chatting with him on Cypress Street near the Museum one afternoon just before he left. He ran the list of how and why his job had become impossible. The buck stopped entirely at City Hall.

Judy Rogers, the City Manager, says today that she doesn't know why Jim left. She must be deaf, dumb and blind or simply lying.

He left because of her and the City' s entirely neglegtful attitude toward this invaluable resource.

Shame on them all.