When did I become "Dave?"

Political photo ops herald season of windy pies and airy puddings

Dave Berner, The Province

The Province

Monday, October 06, 2008

Tis the season of the photo op. The premier is in full election mode. As my mother used to say, "It's all windy pies and airy puddings." Let's examine three recent announcements: community courts, home care and tolls.

With great fanfare and considerable hope, Judge Thomas Gove and Wally Oppal, who poses regularly as B.C.'s Attorney-General, announced the opening of the Downtown Community Court.

Anybody who has ever given a moment's thought to the failures of our criminal justice system had to applaud. Let's stop the useless cycle of incarcerations that lead only to better equipped criminals and sociopaths. Let's divert these addicts and others into treatment.

Ah, if only. Unfortunately, this is a house of cards.

Retired Justice Wallace Craig put it best in his recent column in the North Shore News.

"Set in a sterile and disused pre-trial jail behind the Criminal Court at 222 Main Street, the Downtown Community Court will be a revolving-door court for drug addicts, a finger-in-the-dyke experiment that lacks the critical support of detoxification and residential treatment premises." Another in the long line of silver bullets meant to save the DTES in a thunderclap. Won't happen. Not until the real resources are there to complete the picture.

The same song was hauled out when Mary Polak, B.C.'s Minister of Healthy Living and Sports, stepped before the cameras to announce the government will expand home care for seniors.

Again, a welcome and overdue notion. It is not only more cost effective to serve many elderly patients in their homes, but it adds considerably to their sense of independence and quality of life.

A no-brainer, apparently -- until you examine the fine print.

Polak told reporters the province has developed four cornerstones: developing "age-friendly communities," supporting volunteerism, promoting healthy lifestyles and supporting older workers. I guess that's like The Four Pillars and we know how successful that has been. Sounds very nice, but where are the real teeth and the real dollars? Let me assure you from doing years of volunteer work with seniors that home care IS essential, but it costs money. You must pay nurses and home-care workers to come to Ben or Gail's apartment and help them with bathing, groceries and house cleaning. That takes real budgets for the workers and the support staff who organize the clients and their needs.

There is nothing in this fatuous announcement that speaks to the real delivery of real service.

This leads us finally up the "Coke" to the now abandoned toll booths. One commentator called this latest "B.C. blacktop politics at its best." It's a transparent sop to Kelowna voters and the trucking industry, this does not sit well with city folk and those who will soon pay tolls on the newly-twinned Port Mann Bridge.

Turn off the bubble machine.

david@davidberner.com

© The Vancouver Province 2008

The War that can't be Won

The Vancouver Sun's new and much-touted make-over may or may not be the next best thing; time will tell.

But if their two stories on Afghanistan in the new "Canada & World " section is any indication, this change is most welcome.

In the first story, a British general states flatly, "We are Not going to win."

In the second, marking the 7th anniversary of America's military action in the region, analysts insist that we must "stay the course."

Very Funny

"Burn After Reading," the Coen Brothers latest movie is not their best (Nothing will ever top "Fargo," a movie for the ages.) but it is very, very funny.

It is the kind of movie you don't want to examine too deeply or it will slip through your fingers, but with this huge stellar cast and its raw satire of contemporary morals and government ineptitude, it keeps you laughing from start to finish.

Malkovich is at his best, especially in the opening scene, which, unto itself, is a lesson in acting.

And while Clooney and Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins and the rest of the gang are all first-rate, it is Brad Pitt who steals the show right from under their talented noses with his completely perfect impression of a goofy fitness instructor.

This one will play on TV and on DVD for years and we will watch it.

Uncanny

Late Night Music Club with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra featuring the Marcus Roberts Trio | Crooks and Liars

Late Night Music Club with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra featuring the Marcus Roberts Trio Crooks and Liars

Am I feeling more safe now?

Why has the City of Vancouver - especially during a lame duck period leading to a general election - voted to hire more private security guards in their silly "Ambassador" program?

Why is this contract UNTENDERED?

Who owns Genesis Security?

This is not a good, clean family story, kids.

Look deeper.

Read more.

Revenue Neutral? No such.

Here's something that nobody has mentioned yet.

If Gordon Campbell's famous carbon tax is supposed to be famously "revenue-neutral," then what is the cost of administration of close to $2 Billion and the alleged tax cuts that are alleged to offset it?

This is like the old idiocy of Victoria or Ottawa spending nine dollars to send you a $1.35 refund on something.

Why should we spend millions on the paper work to bring in money that will be returned in some other way?

Is there aything about this hair-brained scheme that isn't patently smoke?

Out of Control

"Palin says Obama friendly with terrorists"

If that headline doesn't make clear the narrow, shallow guttersnipe character of this appalling candidate, what ever will?

Perhaps she and McCain are desparate.

Even so, they abandon all dignity with this kind of attack.

This abomination speaks clearly about their fitness for high public office.

The entire story from this morning's Province can be read here.

Go ahead, defend her. Defend this. Good luck.

Reports Link Karzai’s Brother to Afghan Heroin Trade

The White House says it believes that Ahmed Wali Karzai is involved in drug trafficking, and American officials have repeatedly warned President Karzai that his brother is a political liability, two senior Bush administration officials said in interviews last week.

Hahahahahahahaha....

Lovely.

If you can handle it, read the whole sickeningmess here.

It is for this that Canadian soldiers are dying?

Gone, but not for cheap...

The Provincial by-elections being held on October 29th in Burrard and Fairview present a good object lesson in civics.

The Burrard seat has been vacated by Lorne Mayencourt so that he can run for federal office, the Fairview seat by Gregor Robertson so that he can run for Mayor of Vancouver.

Both are honorable men and may in time serve their communities well, as they may have already.

But...

As a principle, I always find this move suspect and unattractive.

The simple truths are these:

The Jenny Kwans, Stephen Owens, Lorne Mayencourts and Gregor Robertsons vacate their elected offices entirely for reasons that are selfish and ego-gratifying.

These people have been elected by their public and neighbours and are honor-bound to fulfill the terms of their offices.

By-elections cost upwards of $300,000 per seat. Do any of these wanderers offer to pay the tab?

It is fascinating to watch the public by and large forget all of these concerns and get caught up in The New Thing.

But how is it possible to take seriously the fresh promises?

And yes, I have Abandonment Issues.

Hahahahaha...

MY FRIDAY PROVINCE COLUMN

will appear on Monday.

Don't ask...

HERE IS REAL COMMUNITY ACTION AT ITS BEST

What follows is not a new idea, but it is a GREAT idea. We were the first to do exactly this in 1970 when The X-Kalay Foundation (residential treatment centre for addicts, alcoholics, ex-cons & others) ran restaurants in vancouver, Winnipeg and Salt Spring Island. Then, for years there was a wonderful and similar program running a restaurant at Broadway and Fir, training and employing addicts and street kids. That program was starved out of business by government funders. David: Daughter Sara has just bought a new cookbook, by Jamie Oliver. She drew my attention to the author's short page about his community project, Fifteen, which you may well have heard about. In case you have not, though, you might like to read the article which I'll type below, in the hope you might like to post it on your blog...with credit to source, which I'll include. Why that suggestion? Because it might just persuade some of our political blockheads that there really are better options than Insite...so here goes -- A little chat about Fifteen Many people still talk about Fifteen as though it was just a part of the Jamie's Kitchen television series from a few years ago. But Fifteen is going from strength to strength! So let me tell you what's been going on since the TV cameras left. We are on our fifth intake of students in London, our third intake of students in Amsterdam and, as I write this, we've just opened a restaurant in Cornwall and are about to open one in Melbourne. So pretty soon there will be four amazing restaurants offering thousands of customers a great experience, and offering hundreds of young people the chance of a lifetime. The idea behind Fifteen is pretty simple - every year we give a unique opportunity to a group of young people to become professional chefs. The kids we take on have had a bit of a hard time and could do with a break. Many of them are homeless, have been raised in difficult circumstances, have spent time in prison or gone off the rails and got into drink and drugs. But at Fifteen we believe that we can inspire them to break habits and believe in themselves to become incredibly passionate chefs. All our students attend catering college before working in the restaurant kitchen, where they learn what it takes to cook in a high-pressure environment. They're taken on regular sourcing trips, to see some of the amazing things that our suppliers are up to, and to give them a first-hand experience of where the incredible fresh ingredients used in the Fifteen kitchen come from. To me, making that connection between the food they cook, and the inspirational people that produce it, is a real part of the magic of Fifteen. But that's not all. It may sound a bit corny but I see Fifteen as a family - a place for students to feel safe and appreciated. Students get all the support they need when it comes to their housing issues, debt and other personal problems. So when they're in the kitchen, cooking for the guests or learning from the professionals, they can focus on that 100 per cent. The students do work at some of the best restaurants in the world, alongside exceptional chefs. When they graduate and go on to work in the industry, we are always there to offer them help when they need it. This is why we have recently set up Fifteen Ventures, to provide help with the financial and business side of things for graduates who want to run their own restaurants. I believe that pretty soon our students' presence in the restaurant industry will make a real difference, and there will be more professional kitchens that are run like a family, not a military boot camp. I want to finish by thanking you for buying this book. Every penny of my profit from it is going back to Fifteen and will, without a doubt, benefit the students for years and years to come. The proceeds will get more disadvantaged young people, in cities all over the world, out of their rut and into cooking. So thanks, guys, for buying this book and making that happen. If you want to find out more about what we do, are interested in being a students, would like to come to any of our restaurants, or even feel inspired to trust us with a donation, go to www.fifteenrestaurant.com So there you have it, David. It occurs to me that a project like this would be a natural for the North Vancouver Youth Centre - a project that. after it had helped about 75 kids to climb back on the right track, had its funding cut by the Campbell government. To its credit, Council of the District of North Vancouver took up the slack for one year, to allow the Centre time to find other sources of funding. I'm not sure of the current status. All of that said, you don't need me to tell you that it doesn't need to be cooking that helps these kids, nor does it even need to be kids. It could be construction, writing or medicine, and it could be not kids but adults that are helped. What it does take is a government that gives a damn, so that people like Jamie Oliver stand a chance of getting this type of project off the ground...and a government that doesn't waste our money on dopey ideas like Insite - pun intended. Regards, Elizabeth

Who's Counting, Part One?

Top Psychiatrist Didn’t Report Drug Makers’ Pay

Now, doesn't that just say it all.

Here's the first paragraph from this morning's NY Times.

One of the nation’s most influential psychiatrists earned more than $2.8 million in consulting arrangements with drug makers from 2000 to 2007, failed to report at least $1.2 million of that income to his university and violated federal research rules, according to documents provided to Congressional investigators.

Read the rest of this sordid tale here.

And then consider what tip of what iceberg this signals.

How many shrinks have prescribed how many millions of useless, harmful pills to how many unsuspecting patients because they were paid - BRIBED - how many millions of dollars to do so.

Once all the geniuses figure out how to dismantle the illegal drug trade (like, not in the known next 180 billion light years), they can go to work on these licensed immoral pushers.

Who's Counting, Part Two?

Let me see if I've got this.

The country is rife with ecological saviours, including 4,200 departments of various governments that are monitoring our climate change behaviour.

Suzuki and friends are on every street corner, in every dumpster bin, atop every oil derrick making sure we mind our P's and Q's.

There are Green Parties and Green Party candidates coming out of the old forest growth woodwork.

And yet...

AND YET...

OTTAWA -- The City of Ottawa could be fined tens of millions of dollars next week after pleading guilty to dumping close to one billion litres of raw sewage into the Ottawa River and failing to report it. At a court hearing Friday, lawyers for the city and the Ontario Environment Ministry agreed to a statement of facts on the August 2006 spill. But the two sides are continuing a discussion on the appropriate punishment and could make a sentencing submission to the court Oct. 10. The fines for the spill range from $25,000 a day to $6 million a day. For the 12-day period of the spill, the city faces a fine of between $300,000 and $72 million.

This is the capital of the country. This is the home of parliament.

What? Nobody noticed?

Nobody was keeping track?

Oy....

O.J. Guilty

That is, of this new crime.

LAS VEGAS — O. J. Simpson was found guilty late Friday on all 12 counts stemming from a confrontation in a hotel room last year, including armed robbery and kidnapping.

The verdict, which comes 13 years to the day after Mr. Simpson was acquitted in the highly publicized murders of his ex-wife and her friend, concluded a four-week trial that many have seen as a proxy for those unsatisfied by that 1995 outcome.

Mr. Simpson now faces 15 years to life for the kidnapping charge as well as a minimum of at least an additional 10 years in prison on the other charges. His attorney, Yale Galanter, said he would appeal.


Read the rest of this sorry tale here.

Take my wife, Please...

What was all this fuss about the Bailout?

All they had to do was demand a refund from my dentist for all the caps and crowns he's given me over the years.

Ketcha-boom!

Progress

Gangland shooting in Oakridge parking lot at High Noon???

Oakridge?

Oh, yes, everyone has done a fine job on the crime file.

Civics

I gave the Canadian debate about a minute. Here's what I saw.

Harper came across as the Prime Minister. Reasoned and confident.

Dion was shrew-like. What were the Liberals thinking when they chose this man? Has he ever smiled? Has he ever looked less than worried?

Jack and Liz didn't even register. Oh, yah, then there's The Other Guy.

Game, set, match.

Impaled by Paling

Stop!

I cannot take another minute of the corn-fed, corn-pone, Main Street, golley-gosh-darn, Hockey Mom bullshit.

Next she'll be starring on Broadway in an "Anne git Yer Gun" Revival.

Was her name originally Paling, with a "g?"

She has dropped so many of the other "g's" in her verbs (goin', talkin', teachin'...) that I thought it might have been a contagion starting with her very namin'.

OK.

She is smart. She is sharp. No question.

And she has stood her ground admirably this evening in the debate with Senator Biden. She was well briefed and she is a quick study. Full marks.

But Eye-raq? Eye-ran?

"The surge is workin'?"

And "your good wife has been a teacher for 33 years, her reward will be in heaven..."

Puleeeeese!

Miss Wide-Eyed Bumble-Bee scares the bejaysus out of me.

Can you imagine someone this simple in charge?

This misinformed? This doctrinaire?

McCain's choice of this woman is enough to dismiss him as a worthy candidate.

Happy Lift-Off!

It is not often enough that we hear of something truly exciting happening in local business.

But that was the case this morning when the Sun featured a major story on Viking Air's New Twin Otter aircraft.

The Victoria company already has orders for 41 units, each costing $4Million to start.

Read the item here, and then email Viking your congratulations.