Progress

On Jan. 5, 1914, Henry Ford, head of the Ford Motor Company, introduced a minimum wage scale of $5 per day.

Almost a century later, here in "the best place on earth," we can't get up to $10/hour.

Israel

Yesterday, I managed to see two separate television coverages of the current Gaza conflict. One was BBC and the other CNN. In both instances, a young woman anchor asked an Israeli representative in the most sympathetic yet pointed way, "How do you feel about the deaths and hardships being brought on the Palestinian civilians in Gaza now?" In both cases, the young woman anchor fairly dripped with sincerity and humanitarian concern and barely disguised personal condemnation and outrage.

It was amazing to see virtual clones on two networks separated by an ocean ask the identical question in exactly the identical manner and tone.

Of course, as soon as you hear an interviewer ask anyone about anything with the "How do you feeeeel..?" rubric, you know you're in trouble. Tell me, Mrs. Smith, how do you feel knowing that your three-year old daughter was hit by a runaway truck and smashed into a million pieces?

Where have these two young know-it-alls been the past year while Hamas rockets have maintained a steady rain on Israeli towns?

When did these "journalists" ask Hamas leaders when they plan to stop hiding under women's skirts?

When will they ask Hamas and other Arab leaders when they plan to accept the right of 7 million people to live in a sovereign state called Israel? Or when will they stop teaching their children that Jews are rats and vermin, that must be exterminated from the earth?

Israel is under siege. It has been for a long time. It will continue to be as long as the hundred million people who surround it hate everything about it and everyone in it.

The Gaza attacks from Israel show, if anything, amazing restraint.

Yes, people are being killed and yes, that is horrible. And no, I don't dismiss these deaths and injuries casually.

But what is Israel to do? Sit there and bless the Hamas rockets as they fall on their heads?

Thank the Arab world for continuing to preach hatred?

Israel knows full well that Hamas will not go away, will not be "defeated." We all know that, in addition to its role as Terrorist, Hamas has other faces. Hamas is deeply involved in positive ways in building communities with schools, food, and health care.

All Israel hopes to gain by this latest military initiative is to get Hamas and others to stop attacking Israel and to meet with some reasonableness at a bargaining table.

The condemnation of most of the world press - arrogant and ignorant at best - and the condemnation of the United (Arab) Nations is of no help and disgusting at the most basic level.

Peanuts and Blue Jays

The family of Stellar jays is back and they are busy. So are the little juncos, all flitting back and forth from one bush to another, finding morsels where the human eye sees only a stem.

And directly at the foot of my glass patio doors off the kitchen lies a small cache of peanuts, shells, nuts, the whole works.

The only question is: squirrels or raccoons?

I've considered sitting in the dark on a wooden chair in the middle of the kitchen at 2 or 3 am just to learn who the peanut visitors are.

THE MAYOR OF MEXICO?

It's snowing again.

There are optimists and religionists among you who like to repeat the mantra, "God only gives us what we can handle."

Mmmm...

Tell that to people who are tortured or who lose a limb in battle or at work or who lose a child.

Not that I should compare my current misery to such tragedies.

BUT I DO!

All my coordinates are gone.

The car hasn't seen the inside of my Bat Cave in almost 10 days. It is parked in various snow banks somewhere in a three block radius. Sometimes I just go by to say, "Hello, Little Mazda. how the hell are you doing?"

And it pleads right back to me, "Please, David, brush the snow from my roof and my windows and turn over that engine. If possible run the heater and the defroster for a while."

This morning was the first in over a week that the Globe & Mail actually arrived at my home. I have phoned their fabulous "Customer Care Service" every morning for about eight days now to have my little chat with Electronic Man. He tells me the kinds of things I can say (Like, "This is a delivery problem.") and I respond like the perfect Pavlovian Samoyed that I am. Nobody at Customer Care could tell me when they expected delivery service to resume or what the problem is or why a store 2 blocks away has its paper, but I don't have mine.

Now, rumours on the street have it that our new Mayor, Gregor Robertson is in Mexico at the moment on a holiday.

Is this true?

Why isn't he here, digging and shovelling like the rest of us?

Better yet, why isn't he here leading the clean-up and dig-out?

The same rumours have it that Mayor Robertson has actually instructed the works yard to NOT send out battalions of snowplows and other clean-up equipment.

As the story goes, Robertson feels that all those trucks would add negatively to the city's "carbon footprint."

Is this true? Is it just a rumour started by grumpy NPA folk?

If it is true that Mayor G. is in Mexico and that he has ordered the trucks to not move when businesses already battered by a disastrous economy, have now been completely shell-shocked by weather that leaves most shoppers huddling at home...if this is true, we are really in for a scary three years, kids.

Your comments and confirmations of rumours will be appreciated.

Dopes

I know a man who lives in a little cottage on Vancouver Park Board property.

His job is to look after the lawn and any amenities that may be there.

I've know this man for over 20 years now.

He told me yesterday that recently he almost lost his home, and that if he did ever lose his home, he would be...that's right, homeless.

"Why did you almost lose your home?"

"Well, I found a bunch of guys shooting up heroin in the washrooms, so I locked them out."

"You mean the Park Board almost threw you out because there were guys shooting dope in your washrooms?"

"No, not at all. They almost threw me out because I locked the doors to keep these guys out, and the Park Board wants the bathrooms open at all times."

"So why don't they provide police or surveillance or something to keep the addicts out?"

"Search me. I had to confront a violent drunk also and the Park Board was mad at me."

Lovely.

Talking to this fellow yesterday, reminded me that in the main floor bathroom at the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, there is a prominently displayed container in which I am encouraged to deposit my dirty and used hypodermic needles.

A friend tells me that such handy dandy containers are to be found in washrooms all over the downtown core.

As I spend as little time as possible in the cesspool known as the Vancouver Downtown core, I wasn't aware of that. (Living in Victoria for 2 weeks in November was a similar experience. The Downtown has been abandoned to the Ugly and Stupid People. Something approximating civil life can only be found in the neighbourhoods and suburbs. Yah, I know. You're going to write me and tell me that you live at Richards and Drake and it's the most wonderful place on earth. Good luck to you.)

Talking to this fellow yesterday, also reminded me that David Eby is the new Executive Director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

One of the first things Eby did after taking office was give an award to what he feels is one of the best and most progressive and most helpful groups in town, VANDU.

VANDU is the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users.

Several of us have suggested over the years that this group rename itself to VANDA, the Vancouver Area Network of Drug Abusers.

This so-called group is a loose collective of drug addicts, trying to behave like a labour union.

Let's recall for just a moment that, in the days of John L. Lewis, the focus of labour unions was to save nine-year-old boys from being send down mine shafts in Pennsylvania to look for lumps of coal. Forgive me for bringing something as distasteful as history into this matter. I appreciate that I am sublimely out of touch.

Mr. Eby of the BC Civil Liberties has said that VANDU - using dope fiends who argue that it is their right and entitlement to proudly use dope and that we the taxpayer should do everything we can to help them do just that - deserve recognition for their staunch (or was it stoned?) support of Insite, the so-called safe injection room.

Jean Vanier, writing in this morning's Globe, talks about the mission to create a world "where every person is seen as valuable and helped to find a fullness of life, through and in a place of belonging."

A fullness of life.

Do we value people by giving them the very thing they must escape?

Can there be a fullness of life in injecting heroin?

Is a sterile room with little shooting booths a place of belonging?

Mr. Eby, now the boss of the BC Civil Liberties Association, comes from the Portland Hotel Society, which runs Insite.

He has, in effect given himself an award for the work he has just left.

He was a curious and questionable choice for this new assignment.

BC Civil Liberties may not always have had your approval rating on some issues, but they have in the past had a deserved reputation for reasonableness and clear thinking.

Doctrinaire ideology is now at the helm.

THE MARCH OF JUSTICE. WE ARE IN SAFE HANDS

Just in case you were wondering about the state of our criminal justice system...

Let's check in on the famous Liberal Sponsorship Scandal, in which a few minor players were given jail sentences and none of the real mechanics behind this theft of public money have even been suggested as being culpable.

Here are some pieces taken from a Globe report this morning on the parole of Chuck Guite:

MONTREAL — Disgraced former bureaucrat Chuck Guité has won parole after serving only a small fraction of his sentence for defrauding taxpayers in the federal sponsorship program.

Previously, Mr. Guité had shown a “persistent lack of remorse,” the board wrote.

His criminal actions were the result of a “serious lack of judgment,” “cognitive distortions” and “possibly the lure of profit.”

The board concluded that Mr. Guité was unlikely to commit a violent crime upon release.

“However,” it said, “the motivation underlying your offences remains unclear.”

Huh?

The man is a thief, a crook, a badger. He created accoubnts and files from thin air to steal taxpayers' money for his own greed and profit.

The motivation is unclear?

This is your National Parole Board at work.

Members of this august assembly are paid about 120 Large each year, plus expenses.

Geniuses. Ears to the ground. Fingers on the pulse.

RARE GOOD NEWS

It is not often you learn something about any element of Canadian society asking anyone to be repsonsible about anything.

Imagine my surprise and elight when I read the following from Ian Bailey in this morning's Globe:

"Friday afternoon, three skiers and a snowboarder ducked under a boundary-area rope at the Grouse Mountain ski area, and entered an avalanche-prone area, ignoring orders from the mountain's safety patrol to get out.

Before long, the RCMP and North Shore Rescue Team were on the scene, and a helicopter search tracked down the four B.C. men – two 25-year-olds and two 24-year-olds. They have been banned for life from Grouse Mountain, and will be billed for all costs, now being tallied, related to the incident. Their names will also be circulated to all ski resorts in British Columbia."

At last.

PRIORITIES, PART 3,876

Just a little reminder from factoid land.

In December, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, the B.C. Representative for Children & Youth, published an update on the provincial government's "progress" in implementing recommendations from the (Ted) Hughes report in 2006.

Of 15 key recommendations she reviewed, she found none were completely implemented.

None.

Take another foto op with you and a Bantam hockey player, Gord.

Tacoma Glass

Get Out

"This government has lost the capacity to govern because a shadow government has taken over. The narco-mafia state is now completely consolidated."

ASHRAF GHANI, a former Afghan finance minister, on corruption there.

This quote from the NY Times begs the question once again and once again, "Why are Canadian soldiers dying in this sinkhole?"

If I hear one more fake politician blather on about "the honorable" thing, I will puke.

Politicians have been throwing out that line of crap since the first caveman heaved the first rock at the first "other" caveman.

You think you've seen winter?

Alex Tsakumis, writing in this morning's 24 Hours newspaper has captured nicely the trashy little lowlights from Monday's NPA stabbing in the forum.

Read it here.

A friend, who lives in Dunbar, spoke eloquently the other day about how the party had managed in recent months to alienate their own best supporters by not listening to a word.

Which leaves us here in Vancouver with a Vision-dominated City Council, not a recipe for good government.

The council should be a healthy mix of different views and approaches. It is now a doctrinaire love fest.

May some party or other rise from the vacuum and the ashes in the coming months to present some variety for the voters 3 long years from now.

And some quality wouldn't hurt either.

What About Everything? Carbon Leaf

Plots have I laid, Inductions Insidious...

Some further thoughts about Monday night's NPA meeting.

Many have asked what was the motive of the Curtain Plotters? What did they want? What was their goal?

After considerable deliberation, I have found the answer.

It comes, as do many answers in life, from Shakespeare.

"A horse! A Horse! My kingdom for a horse," shouts the mad and desperate Richard III.

What he is saying is that The Game is All. Keep me in the Game. He spends five acts plotting and executing his crazy plans. He tells us this in his first speech. "Plots have I laid..."

And what, in the end, does it come down to? Becoming King doesn't really satisfy him. He needs more action! Think Al Pacino's Tony Montana in "Scarface."

He is like the perennial romantic, who appears to be seeking the perfect partner, but is in fact hooked entirely on the Dance of Seduction. He is on a wheel that never stops.

As so we ask again, "What did these two cheese-heads really want at that meeting?"

And the answer is simply to keep playing these games, to be part of the action, that is their fatal addiction.

The man they maneuvered and manipulated out of position is also the man who taught them the ways of politics.

HOWEVER...

This man is a true citizen. This man has been in the political arena most of his life because there are issues and ideas he wants to further. This man is on the board of a dozen charitable organizations and works tirelessly to make his community more democratic, more inclusive, and more engaging.

The two silly little men that he has taught over the years - and who have never once said Thank You - have no real goals, no commitments, no dedications.

They just like the action.

And there will always be ears that feel privileged when someone whispers into them. There will always be naive rubes who believe that they are being drawn into the circles of power.

Always, the key in such matters is intention.

What are these people really about?

In this sorry case, the answer is nothing more than mischief, hang the expense.

Finally, what was Sam Sullivan doing there?

Doesn't anybody have a life?

Doesn't anybody in public office who is defeated know how to move on anymore?

No, Sam, always petulant and petty, was there for revenge. Thin gruel, Baby. May you find a quantum of solace in the coming year.

A Christian Perspective on Israel

ICEJ Statement and Appeal regarding the Gaza conflict

In the time since Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip in August 2005, the Islamist terror militia Hamas seized control of the area and increased its relentless rocket and mortar attacks against the southern towns of Israel. These daily barrages literally kept thousands of Israeli civilians in siege-like conditions, while the world stood by and said almost nothing about the thousands of children traumatized or the needless loss of life and property. Sderot, one of the towns closest to Gaza, took the brunt of these attacks.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has firmly stood by the Israeli communities in the western Negev during these tense times, providing social assistance through local charities and aid workers and delivering a number of portable bomb-shelters to the region. This ministry has also undertaken numerous fact-finding visits to the area and has thus witnessed first-hand the brutality and indiscriminate nature of these attacks from Gaza.

A brief ‘lull’ brokered by Egypt brought temporary relief to these war-weary residents of the Gaza periphery, but the rocket strikes returned in early November and began striking the city of Ashkelon. The Israeli government was reluctant to endanger the Palestinian civilians among whom Hamas hides, using them as involuntary human shields. But in the end Israel had little choice but to finally take action to protect its citizens, which is its rightful duty. One would expect the same of any state that cares about its citizens.

Now, Hamas has responded with longer range rockets that have hit the cities of Ashdod and Beersheva, placing over 700,000 Israeli civilians within range.

Loss of life is always regrettable and must be contained, and Israel more than any other country has demonstrated this principle. However, the Hamas regime in Gaza has no respect for life, denies the very existence of Israel, and works relentlessly for its total destruction. This is the stated position of the movement in its own words and clearly reflected in its charter. Israel was left with no choice other than to remove this threat from its southern region. Better to do so now than to wait until Hamas has the backing of a nuclear Iran.

The International Christian Embassy Jerusalem therefore finds it disturbing that many Western leaders have again opted to condemn Israel under the guise of what they call “disproportionate response.” The “doctrine of equivalence” sees no evil, hears no evil and does no evil. It stands on the fence trying to lay blame equally on both combatants. This is an outrage and our world is giving in to radical Islamic terror because of it. Hamas is a terrorist organization supported by rogue regimes in Syria and Iran, and the international community knows this well but many leaders do not have the courage to say it. Appeasement is the only game in town! So, Israel must be equally condemned.

We stand behind Israel in its actions of self-defense on behalf of its citizens and call on the world community to lay the blame where it is due. In this regard, we recall the words of US President-elect Barack Obama when he stood in Sderot this past summer and stated that Israelis should never have to live under the threat of daily rocket attacks.

Further, we appeal to Christians to offer prayers for Israel in these difficult times as we enter the New Year. We also are offering the chance to be of practical assistance to the embattled residents of the Western Negev. The ICEJ has committed to temporarily relocating dozens of poor families with small children to safer areas elsewhere in Israel. We need immediate funds to cover their transport, accommodations and meals. Schools and daycares are closed in their region and normal life has become impossible, but these families cannot afford to relocate themselves out of harm’s way.

Please respond by visiting our secured on-line server and making a donation today. Thank you for caring!

Malcolm Hedding
ICEJ Executive Director International Christian Embassy Jerusalem
ICEJ USA | PO Box 332974 | Murfreesboro TN | 37133 | www.icejusa.org

Maybe this will Melt the Snow

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Be careful what you wish for...

Dare I wish for the intractable, hateful, murderous conflict between Israel and everybody else to end and find a peace for all?

I am a Jew living in Canada and I am daily made sick to the stomach of the continuing news of death and the relentless hatred towards Israel.

Will some small ray of light appear on that stage in 2009? We can dream...

I wish our Canadian soldiers back from Afghanistan.

I wish for a friendlier, more relaxed, more open Canadian citizen, one who can actually smile and say, "Good morning," as you pass each other in the street.

I wish for more insulation and double-glazed windows for my lovely, but terribly energy-inefficient house.

I wish for some political leadership somewhere in Canada at any level.

I wish everyone gets home safely tonight from the revels.

I wish I could get past the Miser Within that keeps me from taking advantage of the Boxing Week sales to buy that fancy new camera I really covet.

I wish you all a year of good health, some coins in your jeans, and the warmth and companionship of friends, families and lovers in whatever shapes, sizes and colours they may appear.

Come on, Dance, You Cheapskates

Ballet BC details its debts to local businesses

168 creditors owed nearly $400,000, court papers show

There are the headlines that explain the entire story.

This is lunch money for Gordon Campbell. And for Gregor Robertson.

What are they waiting for?

Be a man. Be a mensch.

Step up to the plate, boys.

Totally corrupt bankers and totally inept auto makers can be rescued in the Billions of dollars, but we can't throw a $400,000 bone to the hardest working artists on show business.

Have you ever tried to dance?

It's more gruelling and, occasionally, much prettier than NFL football.

This is a cruel joke.

Pay off these small debts and let these people do their work.

You politicians speak constantly about "community" and "pride" and the "best place," blah, blah, blah...

Get real and get reel...

Still Hunting J.D.

It's good to know the old verities persist.

Tomorrow, J.D. Salinger will turn 90.

And that means that magazine and newspaper editors around the world will still be sending out cub reporters to the village in New Hampshire where the author of "Catcher in the Rye" has been hiding for about five decades now.

Gee, never on Oprah or D. Letterman?

What's the matter with this guy?

Hahahaha...

I salute you, J.D.

How Do I get in the Bail Out Line?

Former Merrill Lynch Exec takes bailout money to buy palatial digs

This is the headline from Crooks & Liars by way of Video Cafe.

Watch the video and read the text and study the floor plans, all here.

After you finish throwing up, contemplate the beauty of these "save-the-nation" bailouts.

The NPA Dumped

Last night, the NPA tried to reorganize and salvage some sense of the ruling party they had been for many years here in Vancouver.

If the detestable behaviour of the small cabal of cronies who conspired to control who would and would not be elected to the new board is any indication of where this group is headed, hide the silverware, kids.

It used to be said of fights in academia that they were so bitter and mean-spirited precisely because the stakes were so low.

That old gag applies here.

Shame on those petty nitwits who seem to only gather pleasure in whispering behind the curtains.