Child Poverty Cup Comes Home - Again

OK. We didn't win the Grey Cup.

But we have won another sweepstakes.

For the fourth year in a row. Yay, BC!

HIGHEST CHILD POVERTY RATE IN THE COUNTRY.

21%

Employment & Income Assistance Minister Claude Richmond, who has managed to secure comfy public purse jobs for himself for many years now, say the statistics are out of date. Of course that's what he said last year and the year before. And the year before that.

At the same time, the Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond has announced that the Ministry of Children and Families is doing very little to implement Judge Ted Hughes' recommendations to improve matters for...well, children and families.

Hughes made 62 recommendations. Minister Tom Christensen (whose resignation I have called for in these pages twice in recent months) has implemented 18. He's working on the others.

Slow to do anything substantive about helping children and families, which apparently is his mandate and duty, Christensen was quick off the mark to write a letter to Turpel-Lafond disagreeing with her assessment.

Only catch is the Minister didn't send his letter to the recipient. He had it tabled and read at a government meeting yesterday. Before Turpel-Lafond even knew it existed.

Children and families are going begging and child poverty is soaring in this province boasting a raving happy economy.

But once again we ask, where or where is the Premier?

Oh yes, he's in Asia. Doing business.

Elect a different government.

One that takes notice and care of its children.

Who's Teaching the Teachers

Millions of Canadian parents (1 in 3) are now hiring tutors for their children.

The lengthy explanations defy the obvious.

Teachers are not doing the best job.

Private schools, home teaching and tutoring...there must be some reason, you think?

Meanwhile, back in the political arena, the BCTF doesn't want children to experience the stress and trauma of tests.

Interesting.

Where is the "Help" at YVR?

The Canada Border Services Agency, which once again has let a criminal immigrant stay in Canada, is now saying that it will clean up its act at YVR.

Nice.

But there is no mention of the simplest thing.

How about a team of three employees who act as roving ambassadors - 24/7 - to look for people who are understandably lost and confused in the loony bin of corridors and lines that YVR presents? How about people who are actually paid to offer help?

What a concept.

YVR is making a fortune, not only in Richmond, but selling its expertise to a number of other airports around the world.

Go ahead, spend a bit of cash, hire a few people, save a life.

I'm Cracking Up on the Cambie Line

Remember Dick Tracy?

Someone would have a complete hole through the centre of his body, would flick his cigarette and say casually, "Forget it. Merely a superficial wound."

Comes to mind as we listen to the indifferent managers of the Cambie Line who are now telling shop owners with cracks in their walls and floors that these damages are not urgent because "your shop isn't falling apart."

So let me see if I understand this correctly.

After destroying many of the mom-and-pop businesses along the construction site because no on will bother to shop there, the company is now rattling the foundations of these shops and saying, "Oh, gosh, what's your worry?"

Where is the Premier?

Oh, I forgot. He's in Asia doing business.

While business in town is falling down.

Hateful.

Elect a new government.

Boot the Groundskeepers, Sue the NFL

How many years has the National Football League had to get their act together? 60?

That surface of new sod, grass, mud and rain in last night's dreadful contest between Miami and the Steelers at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh was a disgrace and an embarrassment.

3-0 with a field goal in the last 17 seconds. Gimme a large Canadian break.

All ticket holders and ESPN/TSN should demand of the NFL a refund.

BORRRRINNGGG...

And completely unnecessary.

CHET BAKER

A bit of a musical genius - trumpet player, singer - he was also a deranged heroin addict with all that that brings to the table, including falling out a hotel window (or being pushed, who knows?)in Amsterdam to his death at a young age.

ANYWAY...his singing of the American Songbook is choice...

No Country for Old Movie Fans

Nothing in the realm of advertising for movies can be trusted. Not a word.

Joel and Ethan Coen's new film, "No Country for Old Men," has been hailed as an "instant classic."

It is not. Not even close.

Within minutes of its beginning, the film signals that the Coen Brothers are mining their own work history and repeating past successes. Replace the snow-drifts of North Dakota with the desert scrub of the Texas panhandle and you have "Fargo South."

Wide spectacular landscapes punctuated with one or two misshapen trees. Sound familiar?

There is even in the first three minutes a shot of the psychotic killer sitting in the back of a police car driving down an endless rural road, which is exactly here "Fargo" left off.

Remember Marge's dumb sidekick rookie cop? Well, he's here again as Tommy Lee Jones' dumb sidekick rookie cop, only not nearly so winning or funny.

Now "Fargo" was a classic and it remains thoroughly watchable and engaging today.

But re-done in another setting with the violence level cranked to unbearable and unnecessary proportions and the absence of humor and charm will not bring back the magic.

Oh yes, Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem and Woody Harrleson and Tess Harper are all marvelous skilled actors and they can pretty well do anything a movie or its family of directors asks of it, but that doesn't make the movie worth watching.

Now let's talk about the violence.

Many movies have violence. The Ten Commandments, The Godfather, Bugs Bunny all have violence. Bonny and Clyde was an immense shoot-up.

And many movies with much violence are wonderful and watchable.

Then there is this sad affair and its sullen cousins, Scorcese's "The Departed," and "Gangs of New York," and even "Goodfellas," and Tarantino's "Kill Bill" series.

I walked out of The Departed and Gangs, never watch Goodfellas on TV and rented Kill Bill, Part I and watched about 40 minutes.

These movies are just plain sick.

Tarantino has said that he gets a hard-on filming violence. How attractive.

Well, I guess it keeps him off the street and out of prison.

These films, like the Coen Brothers latest mish-mash (which leaves one bored and cold after the first hour and downright mystified by the long-winded end), are the ultimate examples of our current malaise - style over substance.

What is so sad is the growing number of cinophiles who think anything well-recorded is brilliant.

Victor Wades into the Harper Tough Jail Laws - with Both Guns Blazing

Canadians generally do the finger -wagging, lip sucking routine when they proclaim that one million Americans are in jail at any given time.

Let's bring this down to terms that even the stupid Canadian might (dare I hope) understand.
America has 300 million people.

Suppose you drove into a small American village with 300 people.

You hire a guide to take you through this little town and explain it to you.

Your guide tells you that in this town of 300, about 200 people own a gun. He adds that about 40 people have a serious drug or alcohol problem and that most of them own guns.

He also explains that 40 people in the town are black and that 60 percent of them are in families on welfare with only a mother. Nobody knows where the fathers are.

He tells you that 45 people are Hispanics, but about half of them are illegal immigrants so they work for starvation wages for the rich people in town..

Then he explains that about 10 people are recent immigrants from all over the world, and a few hate his little town for its freedom. He adds that 20 per cent of the people in town hate the immigrants.

At the end of the tour, you arrive at the town jail. So you ask him how many people are in jail.
He says "one".

You reply " But how can you possibly live in the dysfunctional town and only one out of 300 people are in jail?'

And there, dumbfuck Canadians, is what we don't understand.

One out of 300 Americans are in jail at any given time.

One out of 300 is a miracle. It is a wonder that 20 million Americans aren't in jail.

Of course, we are far ahead of them.

To get a better idea of our righteousness, visit Toronto's north east black ghetto, Regina on a Saturday night, Vancouver's downtown eastside. or an Aboriginal reservation near you.

Susan & Carole - The Cambie LIne Disaster Continues

____________________________________________________________________________
__________
To: Carole.Taylor.mla@leg.bc.ca
Subject: SNC Profit jumps 48%....


Dear Carole

How are you?
With all due respect, I'd like to say I'm fine - but the truth is I'm nearly
at the end of my rope. We, the small businesses, seem to have been
double-crossed by everyone involved in this project.
There is no accountability - only arrogant bullies demonstrating a shocking
abuse of power.

I watched your interview with Fanny on Shaw last night. What struck me more
than anything were your candid comments about your job, how you "like to
take risks" and "try to solve problems". You said "that's what I like to
do". I couldn't agree with you more on all counts. This defines what it
takes to be a successful small business person as well. You further said,
what you don't like about the job is "the politics".
I think we have alot in common.

What we don't have in common is a secure financial present or future. The
RAV/Canada Line project, and how it has come into being, has demolished the
solid financial foundation that I and scores of others, have been diligently
building up from, for the past decades. Our happy retirements have been
expropriated by this project, along with our life's work.

I wonder how many millions of dollars that I, and my suppliers and
employees, through my business, personal and property taxes, have directly
contributed to the surplus now in the budget you are currently working on?
Multiply that number by all the small independant family run businesses in
the province. We deserve better than bancruptcy.

Small businesses are the driving forces of our economy and the hearts of all
our neighbourhoods. Yet this Provincial Liberal government seems to think
that it's just fine to demolish all we have achieved and contributed - with
impunity - saying, "it's not our project". Bit of a stretch, don't you
think, given Falcon's zeal to ensure it got built, and Premier Campbell
saying before the 3rd round of voting by TransLink -
"The Province is prepared to assume the overall responsibility for the
completion of the RAV project". It is very convenient to be pointing the
finger at TransLink, as soon the existing board will be gone. Bill 43
ensures that there will be no elected representatives deciding the fate of
our transportaion projects, and will remove even the pretense out of
meaningful public consultaion.

I honestly thought that when the facts were devulged about how this disaster
would actually be built, the obvious response would be - stop. "This is
nothing like what was proposed, analyzed and eventually approved. Let's take
another look." But no one did. The 2010 Olympic deadline superceded doing
the right thing, and the small businesses became the collateral damage.

Turns out we don't really live in a democracy, if the precedent being set by
this project goes unchallenged. This project has established so far, that
it's acceptable to withold all the salient details of a mega-project from
the public and the small businesses, resulting in epic hardship and
financial losses, if it's promoted as 'for the greater good'.
And if these families are forced into financial ruin - too bad. "Be patient
with us while we destroy your livelihoods" say Canada Line. "It will be
great when it's done". Yes it will, for the developers who will be swooping
in to flatten all the one level low-rise buildings that house our shops now.
Most existing businesses will be long gone after years of steady losses.
I'd have to work for 10 years to make up what I've had siphoned away by this
'temporary disruption'.

The project has spent millions promoting itself, disguised as help for the
small businesses - and has now joined every level of government to spend
millions more to "defend themselves" in court rather than act with integrity
and compensate.

According to your comments to Fanny, you say that with a 'P3' project, "the
private company takes all the risk - the public sector is protected". All
the risk, hmmmm?
Tell that to my bank, where out of further desperation, I am about to sell
an RRSP. I am now losing an average of 1,400 dollars a day - for a total of
more than 400,000 dollars since November 2005. After re-mortgaging twice
now in 2 years, they will not extend my mortgage any further - I'm a single
parent and the only income earner in my family. I think having to risk my
retirement funds to sustain my once thriving enterprise is outrageous. I
also think that having to take my own government to court to have them do
the right thing is beyond belief and obscene. The BC Supreme Court says this
case, and others to come, have merit. My case, and others are set down to
proceed next year.

The stress has been crippling. Our lives have changed. Our faith in elected
officials shattered.

As you can see in the attachment below, things are looking nice and
comfortable for SNC Lavalin the builder of this destruction project. Their
Q3 profits are up 48% - to 63.2 million dollars. This surplus, like the
Billions in the Provincial and Federal surplus has come directly out of our
pockets.

Apparently SNC has 'saved' about 200 million dollars by ripping up Cambie
from one end to the other in one Olympic go instead of building by bored
tunnel. Explain to me again, just who it is that is assuming all the risk?

You are in a perfect position to do the right thing by your constituents,
and all the small businesses along the Canada Line route. We admire you for
acknowledging the colossal hardship this project has caused. We need more
than your sympathy.

As citizens, our Country, our Province and our City have failed us thus far.
We need powerful individuals like you to challenge the ugly precedent this
project is currently setting, and right this unconscionable wrong. To insist
that full compensation for losses be implemented, and that there is
legislation in place to ensure that this never happens again.

Show the world that's watching us, what should happen in a democracy. The
money is there.
We need the political will to do the right thing.

Regards
Susan Heyes
Hazel&Co
604 687-0721

RCMP JUST CHANGED TASER POLICY TO 2 JOLTS

"Until August, officers trained to use stun guns were cautioned to avoid using them more than once because of concerns about health effects."

Then the policy was changed.

If only Robert Dziekanski could have changed his travel plans.

The entire gruesome story is here.

Call them all "NERO." Fiddling while their constituents burn

Congratulations are in order to NY Times writer Robert Pear for perfectly illustrating the sickening reality of health care in America with his story of the elevator operator in the US Senate.

The senators are gabbing on about nothing and achieving nothing new, while 45 million citizens remain uninsured. Whenever real health insurance is discussed, the bugaboo words come out - "socialism," "communism,"...

Meanwhile the kid who runs their elevator is, ,like many of his fellow citizens, facing financial catastrophe because of an enormous medical bill.

Read the whole story : This is journalism at its best.

What's Your Net Bet?

"At Betfair, which is based in London, tennis ranks third behind horse racing and soccer among its one million customers, who together place five million bets each day. More than $60 million was handled for the Wimbledon’s men’s final, won by Roger Federer over Rafael Nadal."

This is the crux of the story in today's NY Times about the threat - real or rumored - in the professional ranks of tennis.

What is both sad and amusing about this item is that many years ago I had the sense that the great John McEnroe/Bjorn Borg rivalry was on occasion orchestrated. Not in the majors like Wimbledon or the US Open, but in exhibitions, which would conveniently run the full three sets.

If any of this is revealed to be true, it will be a dreadful shame, but when the stakes are as high as they now seem to be in real dollars, perhaps we shouldn't be so naively surprised.

Basi, Virk, Collins, Campbell, CP, Omnitrax...

Emails between the Premier's office and the Ministries of Transport and Finance?

Depositions in camera?

"Say no more," says the judge?

Curiouser and curiouser.

It's only been 4 years since the RCMP hauled tones of materials from government offices in the legislature.

Let's see, now.

If they fool around with this file just a tad longer, they can get past 2010 and most of us in this aging population are suffering from Alzheimer's anyway, so....

Bread & Circuses

The drama has been building???

Did they mean the dramamine?

On Tuesday, the Olympic mascots will be revealed.

Oh yes, how I've writhed in my sleepless bed.

All this time and human energy and money for a 2 week party in the snow.

Imagine, just try to imagine, if the same amount of human resources - hundreds, no thousands of jobs, million of dollars, all those meetings, lunches, notepads, laptops, emails were focused instead on the homeless or housing, on transportation in our cities, on education, on child care and senior care.

Imagine.

Ya Got Trouble - Robert Preston

There are certain numbers from the musical trove that are classics and are identified with one perfomer.

This is one of the best.

Eurotrash Redefined

For all of those painted clowns who call themselves experts in the drugs and addictions world and who continue to tell us how wonderfully Europe is doing in these regards ("Oh, the Swedes are way ahead of us!" "Oh the Swiss figured this out years ago." and so on...), for all of them, try reading this report about the dramatic climb of meth labs in Europe.

Then try actually walking down the main streets of Frankfurt and Dublin and tell us again how far ahead of us the Europeans are.

It's all spin.

LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM

HOUSING FIRST

Mo, who is one of our regular commenters, passed on this fascinating article about a New York City program that provides housing to the homeless.

It's a "housing first" policy and it is achieving great results.

Do yourself a favour and read this piece.

For all the money and angst being spent by all the local do-gooders, why haven't we found something this simple and this effective?

More Fred & Ginger - I Won't Dance

Complete with Randolph Scott at the bar in the opening moment...

NIMBY alive and well in Richmond

We urgently need addiction treatment centres.

Turning Point has quietly and successfully been running addiction treatment centres for years. They are a private, non-profit agency, run not by government fools, but by people who know and understand addictions and the road to recovery.

Turning Point is adding a few houses and beds to its inventory in Richmond.

Of course,some neighbours are screaming Not in My Neighbourhood. In fact, they are calling their mistaken, short-sighted, evil, selfish, pig-headed campaign of hate and stupidity "Not in Anybody's Backyard."

Of course, the addicts come from everybodys backyard and they cannot find the road back downtown.

Neighbours have been living quite nicely now for almost 30 years next to Turning Point and other recovery houses, often without being aware of their presence.

People scream for more treatment for their addicted children; they just don't want the treatment too near to them.

Fools.