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Michael Moore Is a regular guy/multi-millionaire who gets the corporate clods spitting teeth in frustration. Fahrenheit 911 was his last movie. He made the fol­lowing statement just before our foderal election.

"Oh, Canada -- you're not really going to elect a Conservative majority on Monday, are you? That's a joke, right? I know you have a great sense of humor, and certainly a well-developed sense of irony, but this is no longer funny. Maybe it's a new form of Canadian irony-- reverse irony!

OK, now I get it. First, you have the courage to stand against the war in Iraq -- and then you ele~t a prime minister who's for it. You declare gay people have equal rights -- and then you elect a man who says they don't. You give your native peoples their own autonomy and their own territory -- and then you vote for a man who wants to cut aid to these poorest of your citizens. Wow, that is intense! Only Canadians could pull off a hat trick of humor like that. My hat's off to you. Far be it from me as an American to suggest what

you should do. You already have too many Ameri­cans telling you what to do. Well, actually, you've

got just one American who keeps telling you to roll . over and fetch and sit. I hope you don't feel this ap­peal of mine is too intrusive, but I just couldn't sit by as your friend and say nothing. Yes, I agree, the Liberals have some 'splainin' to do. And yes, one party in power for more than a decade gets a little ... long. But you have a parliamentacy system. (I'll bet you didn't know that -- see, that's why you need Americans telling you things,). There are ways at the polls to have your voices heard other than throw­ing the baby out with the bath water. These ar~ no ordinary times, and as you go to the

polls on Monday, you do so while a man running the nation to the south of you is hoping you can lend him a hand by picking Stephen Harper because he's a man who shares his world view. Do you want to help George Bush by turning Canada into his latest conquest? Is that how you want millions of us down here to see you from now on? The next notch in the cowboy belt? C'mo11; where's your Canadian pride? I mean, if you're going to reduce Canada to a cheap download of Bush & Co., then at least don't surren­der so easily. Can't you wait until he threatens to bomb Regina? Make him work for it, for Pete's sake. But seriously, I know you're not going to elect a guy

who should really be running for governor of Utah. Whew! I knew it! You almost had me there. Very funny. Don't do that again. God, I love you, you crazy cold wonderful neighbors to my north. Don't ever change.

Michael Moore (Mr. Moore is not available for interviews because he now needs to address the situation in Azerbaijan. But he could be talked into it for a couple of tickets to a Leafs game.)

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this ain't democracy

I just voted. as happened the last few times, in pro­vincial, federal, and municipal elections, I wasn't asked for id. I could probably collect those voting cards and vote as many times as I'd like.

When I handed back my ballot I had folded it wrong. Nobody told me how to fold it correctly. The man who took my vote unfolded it partway, making my decision available for three people to see. this ain't democracy. . For the past several months I've watched the cor­

porate media tell me who's going to win the elec­tion. They didn't tell me I live in only one of four 'democracies' in the world who still use 'frrst past the post' rather than a more proportional electoral sys­tem. They told me little or nothing about the major­ity of parties running ~ apparently there were fifteen, but according to them it all boiled downed to two, maybe three, and four if they were feeling generous. The corporate media is clearly in violation of CR TC

broadcasting regulations, still. I wrote about this in 2004:

MEDIA OBLIGATIONS AT ELECTION TIME Subsection 3(d) of the Broadcasting Act declares

that "the programming provided by the Canadian broadcasting system should be varied and compre­hensive and should provide reasonable balanced opportunity for the expression of differing views on matters of public concern." The Radio Regulations, 1986, and Television Broad­casting Regulations, 1987 (Sections 6 and 8 respec­tively) read as follows: "During an election period, a licensee shall allocate

3. time for the broadcasting of programs, advertise­ments or announcements of a partisan political char­acter on an equitable basis to all accredited political parties and rival candidates represented in the elec-. ~ d " bon or re1.eren urn.

"'Election period' means (a) in the case of a federal or provincial election or of a federal, provincial or municipal referendum, the period beginning on the date of the. announcement of the election or referendum and ending on the date the election or referendum is held, or (b) in the case of a municipal election, the period . beginning two months before th~ d~te of the e~~bon and ending on the date the election ts held; (penode electorale )"

The Canada Elections Act Section 99.13 of the Canada Elections Act requires

that, during all federal general elections, all b~oad­casting stations make available for use by registered political parties 6.5 hours of time, ~.prime ~e, during the 28-day permitted adverhsmg penod, and sets out a formula by which this time is divided. ..

It also requires networks to provide an unspecified amount of free time to political parties. For the full text: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Notices/1988/P B88-142.HTM you can write and complain using their form: http://www.crtc.gc.caiRapidsCCMIRegister.asp?lan g=E

Of course it's too late to change what's going on for this election but with any luck, there will enough ' . public criticism to mandate change. Now is the time to start building for it - insisting upon electoral re­form, demanding that the media be taken to task for their negligence, asking Elections Canada why they don't even bother to ask for identification at the polls!! Elections Canada (http://www.elections.ca ) has no email, apparently, but here's where you can write or call:

25 7 Slater Street Ottawa, Ontario KIA OM6

1 800 463-6868 toll-free in Canada and the U.S.

(Submitted anonymously)

The Pulse

There are legends Bound on bookshelves There are myths That once were gospel There are texts

There are other lands Than what we walk There are higher worlds Than what we speak of There are deeper waters Than where we swim We ride the Crest of our wave

That have been murdered We hear what has No Heart ...

There are trees And there are demons That hold green secrets There are stars That whisper gold There are fish

That cast quiet shadows And there are dark lords That smile among us And there are soothers

That glow and vanish To keep us from wailing Listen to its Pulse

Listen to its Pulse

Listen to its Pulse

Listen to its Pulse

We do not Locate ourselves We Pretend we have no song

There are dragons That soar above us There are castles

So I make this Statement to You And the Time is now Upon Us Heroes, Heroines

That mark their time The Emperor Goes Naked Listen to its Pulse

There are ships That sleep on sandy floors We lose the Breath we are

Then Take your Heart within your Hand And Listen to its Pulse Sophia M Freigang Listen to its Pulse

Ever wonder who the real leaders are? With Stephen Harper the Prime Minister-elect, it's

interesting to examine how this happened. I mean he is on record as being against social assistance in most forms; he believes that the wealthy have a right to avoid having to wait their turn in the public health care system and should be able to buy their way to any care they want. Parents should get $100 a month per child to help subsidise daycare costs, but no money to actually creating decent daycares. All of it seems to say 'Screw you if you don't have any '

and on and on Harper was given almost anything in terms of me­

dia coverage - positive reports, commentary saying repeatedly that he had "held his own", "rightly frred

' d d .. "" " back at ",' was uncowe an posttive , won ... N artin was given negative coverage with words and

commentary belittling him, being desperate, flagging on all fronts, etc. and this constant barrage was kept

,. up full force until Election Day. The vast majority of people take what they see on

TV as objective truth, with no political bias at all. But the continuing questions - Who owns the media,

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who decides on the type of coverage, what are the political and economic benefits to those who backed Harper, what corporate interests are best served?

Private health care providers in the USA are drool­ing over getting for-profit health care into Canada; our natural resources and water are coveted by US corporate interests and Harper gave several speeches on how much we should welcome ' deep integration' with the USA. According to Harper, Canada has a weak, socialistic welfare-state economy and all the 'dead weight' (poor people) should be cut loose from the dragging to progress of capitalist societies.

Martin talked a good fight but that' s about as far as it went. Brian Mulroney was the last Conservative Prime

Minister. He gave us "free" trade and other disasters but the most telling thing was that the Conservative majority government was reduced to just TWO sea.ts 1

as voters retaliated with such scorn and disgust over what he and this party had done to Canada. Now Stephen Harper. Am I exaggerating here?

What kicked this piece into gear was seeing an ad for a TV show on the news this morning. CTV is

airing a program called The Next Great Prime Minister this weekend. It's like the biographers and : his~Qrians in the States making Ronald Reagan soimd.like Abraham Lincoln's twin brother, when he was run like a puppet. Ditto George W.Bush. Now is the time to make the first question always

be "IS this true?" Then "Who wants me to believe this and why?!"

PRT

From deregulation to disaster.

One of the greatest misleading arguments that some politicians have proclaimed during the last 25 years, has been the propaganda that deregulation was the best alternative for economic development. But the world -mostly the poor- has spent the last 30 years with the infamous consequences of that sophism. As a matter of fact, we have come a long way, from deregulation to disaster. It's not a secret that through stages of deregulation

there are other no less terrible stages of degradation, extinction, deception and destruction. They say: "Let's deregulate: You must not put obstacles for the free market development because private businesses have a great sense of ethics and are accountable." In the economy, deregulation has played an impor­tant role in frauds. Enron, Xerox, Nortel, Martha Stewart, Fujimori; Suhartho, Salinas de Gortari, Pinochet· Mennen; World.com etc,etc, etc. ' .

Degradation: For the promoters of deregulation, living beings are nothing but consumers. Some prod­ucts and services come to the consumers -yes, we pay for them, including taxes- without proper previ­ous studies and research. Sometimes the effects are evident shortly, but in some other instances it may take a while, even years, until people die as a direct or indirect consequence of "x" or "y" product or ser':' vice. e.g. Viox, Aspartame, Sodium Benzoate; trans fats· level of mercury in vaccines; cough ' . medicines; depleted uranium used in new ammuni-tion, etc, etc, etc. You name it. . . Deregulation in the massive civil transportatt~n m­dustry has increased the probability of bad acc•?ents. Planes, ships, trains -without the proper regulatton and enforcement of safety regulations- are more prompt to malfunction with deadly consequences. It

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is no longer rare that unregulated ships collapse in 5, high seas·or near the coast, delivering highly toxic substances. We do not need to explain the long -or short-term consequences to the food chain; by poi­soning sea life, we are just poisoning ourselves and our children's children. Once too many trees have been chopped, no fine or

punishment will change the effects and damage to our environment. Icebergs are melting, waters are rising: let's call them tsunamis and more torrential rains or hurricanes. In Canada, due to the deregula­tion of the proper inspection, research and enforce­ment of water quality control, in some provinces, people have died because of e-coli bacteria. .. The deregulation in the ways of billing for cellular communication has made possible that the services providers can collect money almost without provid­ing any detail of the services for which the custom­ers are charged. Or they have the nerve to charge the consumer an extra fee just to to provide the detail of the invoice. It's like if the supermarket would charge you for providing the cash register tape/receipt.

Deregulation of the handling of private, personal information has made it possible for anyone techni­cally capable to sell or misuse that data, usually to the detriment of the consumers. Again, you name it. In late December 2005 in Germany, the roof of an

ice rink arena collapsed killing several people -totally innocent victims- as a consequence of lack of the proper regulation, inspection, roof tolerance tests and the enforcement of construction standards. Also, now we know that in West Virginia the owners of a mine that collapsed lately, killing twelve workers, ·had violated more than 150 safety regulations, 90 of them branded as "serious violations". And that has happened in the country where the model of this deregulation propaganda mostly comes from.

But no one seams to care. After every "accident" they just say "a thorough inquiry and investigation will be conducted". But after a couple of weeks, in­cidents fall into oblivion, or at least until the next election comes, or the next disaster happens and more people die. .

When the result of deregulation is the loss of lives and extinction of ecobiological habitat/species, d.:. regulation itselfis nothing but a crime.

By Jorge Escolan-Suay

iJJI!EI(JtSfPI!IiflS LIVE 'WF.I!J(]!N VS

The 15th ANNUAL WOMEN'S MEMORIAL MARCH TUESDAY FEBRUARY 14,2006

Please join us at Carnegie Community Centre Thea­tre at noon on the 14th to Honour and remember the lives of 29 murdered women and 40 women still unaccounted for in the Downtown Eastside

This event is organized by women and led by women because women, especially Aboriginal wom~n, face physical, mental, emotional, and spiri­tual vtolence on a daily basis MARCH TO BEGIN WITH A CIRCLE FORMATION AT

1:00PM AT MAIN & HASTINGS STREET No community organization banners allowed Please bring your hand drums and wear red or purple

Herstory of the February 14th Women's Memorial March

In 1991 a woman was murdered on Powell Street in Vancouver. Because of the way the woman was murdered her family, people of the Coast Salish ter­ritory of Sechelt, did a cleansing ceremony at each of the sites her remains were found to cleanse her Spirit and allow it to travel to the" Star Nations to rejoin her ancestors. This woman's' murder in particular was the catalyst that moved women in the community into action. Out of a sense of hopelessness and frustration and feeling like no one was listening, the women needed to show the larger community that violence against women in the downtown eastside had to stop. They organized a march through the streets of the down-

--,___.-::.:;;~ ·-· - - - ----- -- town eastside carrying placards and banners with the names and sometimes photographs of women in the

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community who had died or were murdered. The march was held on February 14th, Valentine's

Day, a universal day that signifies love. The colour lavender was chosen because it is the colour of heal­ing. Yell ow was introduced as a symbol of hope when women in the community were "MISSING" in ever increasing numbers. Red roses, Cedar boughs and tobacco were left at each of the sites women were murdered. Elders pay tribute to the women with a sage ceremony and prayers being offered. Yellow roses, Cedar boughs and tobacco were intro­duced to each of the sites "MISSING" women were

/ last seen. Today the march continues and the ever increasing

names to the memorial brochure is kept as a marker and stark reminder that much work has yet to happen to prevent and end violence against women in this community. Seventy-two women are on the "Miss­ing Women List", 29 have been positively identified and 3 are unidentified, 40 remain "Missing".

Women drummers lead the march. The Women's Warrior Song was introduced by Martina Pierre from Mount Currie ofLil' Wat Nation in memoriam for the women. The song signifies that there is strength in women and that we are warriors in our own right. We each have the strength to effect change. The theme of the march is "Their Spirits Live Within Us" and this came about because many of the women were missing and no one knew what had happened to them at that time.

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Last year's march brought out over 500 parti~ipants on a beautiful Valentine's Day to honour the hves of these and other women murdered or who have died through violence. Over six weeks, 16 wo~en_ ~om community groups, organizations and as mdiVIduals met on a weekly basis to organize and plan the 2005 14th Annual Women's Memorial March. The appeal was sent out to many individuals, groups, organiza­tions, institutions, labour and student unions con­tributed to make the march another success. The funds raised paid the expenses of food, hall rental, tobacco, roses, blankets etc.

Remaining amounts from monies raised have now been set aside for a Lasting Memorial as tribute to

• the women who have died in the downtown eastside. We struck a Lasting Memorial fundraising commit­tee to raise funds to pay for this Memorial which

~ will be in the dtes and is expected to cost $100,000. The memorial itself has not been designed as yet

but some discussion has taken place as to what was important to Include such as a water feature; . some other ideas put forward - the absolute necess1ty In having the community participate -hands on- in the making of the memorial and offering a place for family members to participate. It is their daughters, sisters, friends, aunties, cousins, mothers, grand­mothers and lovers that are not returning home.

Willie Pickton is charged with the murder of now twenty-seven women and is to stand trial In January 2006. Families, friends and loved ones will need all of the community support to help them get through this tragic and horrific time. If you would like more information or would like to donate to this Lasting Memorial for dtes women please contact Marlene Trick at Carnegie Community Asso­ciation (604) 665-3005.

l On behalf of the 15th Annual Women's Memorial

March Committee, we are writing to ask for your support. The March is sponsored by organizations and individuals in the DoWntown Eastside and is held to commemorate the women in our community who die each year due to violence and to remember the women who are still unaccounted for. This year we will be honouring the memories of the now 29 Women who have died at the hands of alleged serial murderer Robert Pickton, who goes on trial Monday January 30, 2006. Every year the Memorial March committee needs to

raise between $2,000 and $2,500. Money donated is used to pay for hall rental, a sound system, flowers, food, memorial brochures, posters, candles, tobacco and other expenses. We are appealing to you for financial support. Here are some real ways you can contribute to making the March a success: 1) Make a decision as an organization, agency, un­ion or individual to donate to the Women's Memo­rial March or to the Lasting Memorial for women. 2) "Pass the basket" among your friends and col­leagues, and donate what is collected. All monetary donations will help us in this event. 3) Make a donation-in-kind of items such as printing services, tobacco, blankets, food, flowers, ribbon, beaded items or medicine bags. Please contact us for a list of appropriate in-kind donations. If you wish to make a contribution to the Lasting

Memorial for downtown eastside women, please designate your donation to Lasting Memorial memo on the cheque. We hope to have the unveiling in the summer of2007. We thank you in advance for your support and look

forward to you joining us at the 15th Annual Febru­ary 14th Women's Memorial March.

For further infonnation or to make a donation please contact Marlene at (604) 665-3005. Make cheques pay­able to Downtown Eastside Women's Centre Assn, 302 Columbia St. Vancouver, BC V6A 4Jl ; Women's Me­morial March or Lasting Memorial. All donations over $10.00 will be gratefully acknowledged with at tax deductible receipt.

...,..,.. In Sisterhood,

marlene. trick@vancouver.ca

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by at least 40°k

March for Economic Human Rights! Wed., Feb. 22 12 noon at Victory Square (Cambie and Hastings)

Join community groups and labour organizations in demonstrating to . .

demand that the BC Liberals increase welfare payments for families on income assistance. We will march from Victory Square to the Hyatt Regency Hotel where Premier Gordon Campbell will be announcing the BC Liberals' new budget to the Vancouver Board of Trade. Organized by the Save Low Income Housin Coalition.

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Raise welfare rates .

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HOMELESSNESS RADIO MARATHON-.FEBRUARY 15 ~

On Wednesday, February 15th, Co-op Radio will ~ participate in Canada's fourth annual Homelessness

Radio Marathon. This special broadcast features ~ community voices from around the country speaking

out about homelessness and related struggles. The Marathon originates from CKUT FM in Mont­real, where radio activists set up a studio on the

street in midwinter weather and broadcast live over the air and over the internet, all night long.

This year Co-op Radio will be joining in, airing segments of the inte.t net stream from Montreal along with our own, live content broadcast out of the Ra­

dio Station Cafe at Columbia and Hastings. Join usf You can tune into the Marathon on Wed­

nesday, February 15th from 2 to 11 pm at 102. 7FM or online at www.coopradio.org. Or, drop by the Radio Station Cafe for lively interviews, discussion, local performers and refreshments. Whether you've ex­

perienced homelessness yourself or know those who have, we want to hear from you!

Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) Newsletter

This issue written by Jean Swanson

Province plans major attack

on social housing

"You want to see the worst experiment of social housing in British Columbia, go to the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver it' s a failed experiment because we forgot about the fact that people need to be integrated." That's how the provincial minister in charge of housing launched his new strategy for low income housing at a meeting of the Canadian Home Builders Association on Jan. 11.

With the new plan, people who are mentally ill or addicted to drugs and "hard to house" would be able to live in social housing. But others would be given rent supplements and told to rent housing in the private market. We have no idea who would qualify for rent supplements or how much the (Continued on the next page)

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February 1, 2006

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North Am ·ng their bulldOZ~

p roj e cts a nd th ou s ing1 . it so t heY

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supplements would be. We don't know yet if people will be evicted from social housing.

The campaign to change social housing, or maybe end social housing as we know it, "Hinges on a smear of the Downtown Eastside," says Carnegie Association vice president Muggs Sigurgierson, referring to Coleman's words.

Coleman also said, approvingly, to the Home Builders, "Major cities all across North America today are bulldozing their [housing] projects .... "

In reality, social housing in the Downtown Eastside is not a "failed experiment." Residents fought tooth and nail for every unit of it over the last 30 years. Social housing in the Downtown Eastside is usually the best housing in the neighbourhood. Thousands of Downtown Eastside residents are integrated into their community, making it a vital, caring and creative place.

We don't know the details of the government's housing plan yet. Trish F ougner, a communications person in the Minister's office, says the plan is "still under development."

2

What do we know about rent supplements?

While rent supplements can be part of an overall housing strategy that includes public and co-op housing, numerous · problems come when government rely only on rent supplements without funding social housing. Some studies have shown, for example, that it is cheaper in the long run to build housing than to pay supplements for ever • • tncreastng rents.

Rent supplements also maintain the scarcity of housing. In Vancouver the 1. 4 per cent vacancy rate is too low for tenants to have real choice in the private market. Landlords can simply raise rates to take up the entire value of the supplement especially if there is no or weak rent control.

With rent supplements tenants have less security of tenure than in public social housing. They can be evicted (Continued on the next page)

THE EDGE-NEW LISTING 818- 289 Alexander Street

688 sq.ft. one bdrm loft w/16' ceilings large balcony, gas f/p,

great view & U/G pkg. , Bonus: access to a unique 7,000 · sq.ft. amenity building with · workshops, music studio & more

$299,000

because the landlord needs the premises for relatives or other reasons that are used in profit making housing.

Low rent housing in the private market is often not well maintained or run. Some privately owned housing in the Downtown Eastside is a good example of this.

Introducing ... Andrew Van

The Carnegie Community Action Project has hired a part time planner to help work on mostly housing issues in the Downtown Eastside. V anCity Savings provided a grant to the project.

Andrew was born and raised in Vancouver and went to SFU where he studied political science and geography. He has a Masters' Degree in urban planning and worked in Los Angeles and San Francisco. His Master's thesis was on the revitalization of Vancouver' s Chinatown.

When Andrew read about the provincial government' s plans on social housing and rent supplements, he said, "It's a terrible mix of ideology and ignorance, and it makes for bad public policy." Andrew's first task is to provide information to CCAP on rent supplements and social housing.

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What is CCAP going to do?

The Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) plans to ask for a meeting with the Minister of Housing, and is working to see if a province wide network of groups can unite to fight against the new provincial government strategy which may be announced in the February budget. The Save Low Income Housing Coalition (SLIHC) is planning a demonstration against the new strategy soon.

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KORET LOFTS - LIVE/WORK 55 East Cordova St.

#104 - 1,405 sq. ft. street level corner loft with 16'7''. U/G parking. $429,900

#521 - 1,138 sq. ft . S/W corner loft w/14' ceilings, 7 windows and

U/G parking. $449,000 #512- 1,010 sq. ft. South facing loft with 14' ceilings, exposed brick, and

U/G parking. $395,000 •

Who will benefit if social housing is replaced by rent supplements?

People with mental illness and addictions often desperately need decent housing. Perhaps they could benefit from the province's plan to use social housing for hard to house people. But cons~ltations should be held with these user groups to figure out what the best kind of housing for them should be. And they should not be pitted against other groups who need social housing.

But it doesn't appear that the Minister of Housing has been consulting with social housing groups and residents. Instead, Rich Coleman, who was in real estate before being elected, has been consulting with the groups who will benefit the most if social housing is abandoned in favour of rent supplements.

According to 2 4 hours, the head of Rental Owners and Managers Association of BC, Al Kemp, has had

GASTOWN PENTHOUSE 804-233 , .. 1,027 sq. ft. 1 se loft w/ ge roof plan,

inn ceilings, secure parking. Excellent Gastown Heritage conversion.

$475,000

MISSION HOUSE -NEW LISTING

404 - 150 ALEXANDER ST. tl'Ais 743 sq. ft. one bedro?m loft.has

·. spacious rooms, lots of h9ht, bnck feature walls, laminate floors, in-suite laundry and good storage. Gastown Heritage building. (1912 warehouse)

$279,000

"coffee and conversations" with Coleman over the last 5 or 6 years. Rental owners would get a huge benefit from rent supplements in a tight rental market because the scarcity of housing would continue to allow rents to increase. In addition, landlords would reap all the subsidy money government would pay to tenants.

The BC Apartment Owners and Managers Association also lobbied for rent allowances, according to 24 hours. The Canadian Home Builders' Association likes the new plan too .

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POWELL LANE-NEW LISTING 202 - 28 Powel Street

795 sq. ft. one bedroom loft with spa­cious open plan, acid etched concrete

floors, high ceilings, great kitchen, storage, common roof.deck. Excellent

Gastown building.

$297,000 First open Sat. 2-4pm

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Some Thoughts On An Important Book Called "The Impact Of Inequality: How To Make Sick Societies Healthier," by Richard G. Wilkinson,

Routledge, 2005.

Right at the beginning of his book, Richard Wilkin­son says great inequality in wealth and income is a terrible injustice in any society. He points out that in industrial countries like Canada or the United States, the average life expectancy is 5 to 15 years shorter for people in the poorest communities compared to those in the richest communities, and he says this is a stark abuse of human rights. Death by social proc­ess is just as deadly as death by gunfrre.

Over 40 years of research shows that poverty is enormously destructive to the lives of human be­ings. Poverty is a major cause of ill health. Poverty is a major cause of poor performance in school. Poverty is a major cause of street crime, and pov­erty, along with dislocation, exclusion, and family dysfunction, is a major cause of drug addiction. Wilkinson, an expert in public health, has used re­search on inequality from all over the world to show how destructive poverty - and the growing gap be­tween rich and poor - can be. Wilkinson says that no matter how rich a country is (like Canada or the United States), it will still be sick and violent if the gap between rich and poor grows too wide. Canada is one of the most unequal nations among the industrial nations with regard to the dis­tribution of wealth and income, and the U.S.A. is the worst. Poorer countries with fairer wealth distribu­tion (like Greece) are healthier and happier than richer, more unequal nations. The number of years people live is directly related

to how much equality their country has. For exam­ple, Greece, which is a poor ·country in relation to the United States, has a longer life expectancy than the U.S. which is the richest and most unequal coun­try, with the lowest life expectancy, in the industrial world. The people of Harlem in New York City live shorter lives than the people in Bangladesh. When you remove violence and drugs as a cause of death in Harlem (symptoms of despair and exclusion), a major reason for early death is heart disease due to stress - the stress of living at the bottom of society, the stress of disrespect and lack of esteem, the stress of poverty, the stress of unemployment, and the stress of underemployment. Wilkinson says bad

nutrition does less harm to people than depression. This book, "The Impact Of Inequality," makes the

point that inequality - the wide gap between rich and poor - is more toxic than asbestos. Low status, ex­clusion, and lack of control over one's life are de­stroyers of human health and happiness. What a country needs is social justice, and social justice means reducing the gap between rich and poor - and eliminating poverty.

We are human beings in community. We need respect. We are highly sensitive to being looked down on, as Wilkinson points out. We are highly sensitive to being devalued, and to being treated as second rate. We want to be in control of our lives, and to live and work in a healthy community. Wil­kinson writes, "If we want to understand why a larger or smaller proportion of vulnerable peopl~ run into difficulties, we must understand how the wtder economy and social structure damage more people in one society than another," (page 100) He calls for a more democratic society in which everyone is in­cluded, and this means a society in which income and wealth are distributed in a much fairer way than they are in Canada.

Richard Wilkinson would agree with these words by the American poet, Walt Whitman:

Of Equality

"As if it harmed me, giving others the same chances and rights as myself­as if it were not indispensable to my own rights that others possess the same."

\ By Sandy Cameron

Words from Collee~: "Pray for whirled peas!" ·

The World According to Bush- an overview

"To those of you who received honours and distinc­tions, I say 'well done.' And to the ' C' students, I say, ' You too can be President of the United States."' --U.S. President George W. Bush, address­ing a graduating class, recorded in the opening m] ments of the film , The World According to Bush

I first saw the film The World According to Bush at the 2004 Vancouver International Film Festival. The film is by William Karel. A damning indictment of George W. Bush and his administration, it was released too late to influence the outcome of the 2004 American election, Bush's second victory.

What follows are mainly quotes from the movie from different people opining about Bush +others.

Norman Mailer, Writer: "We have the worst Presi­dent in America' s history."

Robert Steele, CIA, covert operations: "We have elected a puppet for President."

2003: In the last 12 years, all major events have taken place under a Bush Presidency: the collapse of the Soviet Empire and Communist Bloc; the frrst Gulf war; the events of 9/11 ; the worldwide spread of terrorism; and the second war with Iraq.

When Bush was asked in one of the Presidential debates who he admired most as a philosopher or someone in history, he said, "Jesus Christ."

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In an interview with an Austin [Texas) newspaper, George W. declared, " I'm invested with a divine mission- to promote a Biblical worldview in the policy carried out by the USA."

Everybody prays the frrst thing in the morning; they' re believers, and they pray in the White House. At the White House, cabinet' meetings took on an air of prayer meetings where, between readings from the Old and New Testaments, those in the room managed the affairs of America and the world.

Sam Gwynne, Journalist: "Bitsh's strongest base is the religious, conservative, right-wing."

Bush declared, let us ask for God's wisdom and presence in what we're undertaking . .. this crusade, this war on terrorism is going to take a while.

Robert Baer, CIA, covert operations: "They be­lieve in God, they believe in a mission, they believe in a crusade against evil."

The only way to understand American foreign pol­icy in the Middle East is to understand that Israel is an integral part of the American body politic.

But it' s from the neo-conservatives in Washington that the Israeli right-wing derives its strongest sup­port. A small group of intellectuals, journalists, and researchers penetrated the apparatus of America' s power. Paul W olfowitz, undersecretary of State for Defence is their leader. Since George W. took up

' residence in the ·White House, they have set the po-litical agenda in Washington. The neo-cons are pull­ing all the strings.

W olfowitz and Richard Perle advocated invading Iraq in 1998.

Robert Steele: "Richard Perle is a conniving, self­serving individual who has manipulated personal relationships into a position of undue power. I think he is one of the three most dangerous people in the United States."

"The people around Bush are not stupid, they' re very smart. They are very calculating and manipu­lative. They're not deaf and dumb in any se~e of the word. And Bush is not blind as much as he' s . . '' mattenttve.

Norman Mailer: " So Bush does surround himself with these very sharp, intelligent people. And, to a great extent, of course they manipulate him."

Until September 11, the Bush team had been in office for nine months and wasn' t getting anywhere.

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The day after 9/11, certain members of the admini­stration, based in and around the Pentagon, went to see the Vice-President saying, "Now's the time to get rid of Saddam Hussein."

Joseph Trento, Historian: "The President basically has let the public believe a lie which is that Iraq played a role in 9/ll , which is nonsense."

Robert Steele, re Iraqi weapons of mass destruc­tion: "These people came to their conclusions, and then looked for intelligence to support it, and when they couldn' t find intelligence to support it, they created lies, to the American public, to the American Congress, to the United Nations, and to the rest of the world; lied to the world."

Re Patriot Act II, giving America unprecedented powers of surveillance, not only of the country' s borders and foreign citizens, but of Americans them­selves: Charles Lewis, Centre for Public Integrity: "When did we start developing secret legislation that

I changes our rights and liberties?"; Joseph Trento: "The last country that did this, that I know about, was the Soviet Union."

Re Halliburton, an oil company, and VicePresident Dick Cheney's former employer: Robert Steele, "Look, they're all crooks! It' s starting to look like a Third World republic, isn' t it? A banana republic."

We know this much now: the Bush administration is corrupt, immoral, plutocratic, neo-conservative, autocratic, and oppressive. And the White House congratulated Stephen Harper on his recent election victory. Quite an endorsement; let' s hope the Harper government doesn't follow in the footsteps of Big Brother to the south.

By RolfAuer

HAPPY NEW YEAR YEAR OF THE DOG

1922, 1934,1946, 1958,1970, 1982,1994, 2006

The Dog is a giving, compassionate personality. A Dog will offer kind words, support, and advice to friends and family. He or she is a listener, always available to lend an ear or a shoulder to a friend in need. Often Dogs know more about their friends than their friends know about them, or even them­selves! Dogs are incredibly attentive. Sometimes

though, Dogs should pay more attention to their own needs. In private, many Dog people worry a lot.

TRE IS A DADDY!

Congratulations to Security Staff John WUUams and his wife Donna on the birth of their baby boy on the night of Jan. 26th (or the early morning of

Jan. 27th). Weighing in at three pounds, they might be calling him ' 'Tiny" !

In all our hearts lies a longing for Sacred Romance ... this heart yearning set within us, the longing for transcendence; the desire to be part of something larger than ourselves ... The deepest part of our heart longs to be bound together in some heroic

purpose with others of like mind and sprit. Brent Curtis and John Eldredge

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Did you know that Volunteer work has health benefits?

VOLUNTEER FOR THE HEALTH OF In//

Volunteer Committee Meetine Wednesday, February 8 at 2pm in the Art Gallery ALL VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! Your voice is needed and appreciated. Volunteer Dinner - an opportunity for the staff to serve all of YOU who have been serving others Wednesday, February 15th, 4:30pm in the theatre Valentine's Day Theme -for entrance to the Theatre you must come wearing your heart on your sleeve. If you would like to sing a song about Love, please see Colleen in the Volunteer Program Office. Pick up a dinner ticket in the Volunteer Program office.

POOLROOM: Christmas Eve Pool Room Tournament Winners; Mark D., Marvin D. Sr., Rocky B., Joe S., Peter _ Congratulations to our Pool sharks. Pool Room Meeting Volunteer Monitors Tuesday February 7, llam in Pool Room Valentine's Day Pool Room Tournament 8-BaU, 2 out of3 Games ball/break at 11 :OOam Sign up in Pool Room.

KARAOKE with Steve Friday, February 10,7 -10pm Carnegie Theatre Karaoke is a form of singing available for everyone.

It is a golden chance for people to discover the joy of singing in an encouraging, accepting environment Come and sing along and have some fun with Steve, our new pilot. Everyone Welcome!

Refreshments served to the brave ·souls.

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OJ MIX- MOVE TO THE GROOVE Friday February 3, 7- 10pm Carnegie Theatre

Cody's dances are the place to be when it comes to kicking up your heels and do a dance or two or three. Please come; its good to see you relax and enjoy yourselves. Refreshments served ....

Free Dance Workshop at Carnegie Community Center

Starting Thursday, February 16th

Karen Jamieson will be offering a dance workshop at Carnegie Community Center. The workshop is open to participants at all levels. Requirements are an open mind, loose clothing and a willingness to ~xplore movement, rhythm and connections within the body. . The dance workshop will .take place in the GYM

(2nd floor) on Thursdays from 3:00 to 5:00PM start­ing February 16th.

'VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTH' (January 2006) (chosen by your peers at the Volunteer Committee mtg.)

Marvin Dennis Senior: Marvin is a relatively fresh member of our team and he has brought his whole family along with him. Although he is new, Marvin's volunteer hours in the Weight Room and Pool Room are rising quickly due to his daily participation. Chuck Yuk Bon: For 17 years, Chuck has been almost solely responsible for making our Ballroom Dance Program happen. Every Sunday he sets up the whole theatre while managing all of the music. Thank you Chuck, your contribution and hard work is appreciated by the many people who benefit from

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your service.

'{0U1VE BEEN A DOG ALL

'{OUR LIFE. ~AVEN'T '(OU? ~ I VE OFTEN WONDERED I WAS FOOLED 6\(

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W~AT MADE 'f'OU I?ECIDE TO BECOME A 006 ..

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Nelftl the Library

New Books: The story of a Vancouver author's obsessive quest to track his hero's movements, Neil Young Nation, by Kevin Chong (781.57), is a fascinating, funny look at a Canadian icon. A couple of beautiful, unusual art books have ar­

rived in the library this month. Drawing From Life: The Journal as Art, by Jennifer New (7 41 . 9) is a collection of illustrated journals by people from all walks of life. There are a marine biologist's water­colours, a quiltmaker's notes and sketches, Lynda Barry's brush paintings, and a Japanese engineer' s intricate maps of his daily aftetnoon walks. Lights of the Spirit: Portraits of Southern Outsider Artists, by Karekin Goekjian and Robert Peacock (709.75) features photographs of work by twenty­one acclaimed self-taught artists from the American South. Outside the mainstream art establishment, these artists show a vivid creativity with painting, found objects and sculpture. The book also includes gorgeous portraits of the artists themselves. Many gardeners know that native plants are not

only good for the environment, they also make for lower maintenance gardening with less watering and less weeding! Whether you've been gardening with indigenous plants for a long time, or if you don't know where to start, check out Native Plants for the Coastal Garden, by April Pettinger with Brenda Costanzo (635.96) and 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plllnts for Canadian Gardens by Lorraine Johnson (635.96). Steve Bell is a political cartoonist for The Guardian newspaper in Britain. Apes of Wrath (741.59) is biting, close to the bone and worth a look if only for the cartoons of George Bush as a bumbling ape.

Beth, your librarian

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FINAL DRAUGHT READING SERIES OPEN CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

WRITERS: Would you like to have your work read by profes-

sional actors in front of an audience? Would you appreciate valuable criticism and commentary from an industry insider? Final Draught, Vancouver's newest and most

exciting reading series, began the second half of its fourth season on Monday, January 16th, 2006.

All scripts will be carefully considered. There are no entry fees or dues. Any and all genres (stage and screenplay) are welcome, with a particular emphasis on one-acts and shorts. In most cases, ten to twenty minutes of material will be selected and presented with two other works over the course of an evening. Writers are welcome to indicate their preference in this regard at the time of submission. Very rarely, a full script will be read, but roles may be recast after an intermission to allow as many actors as possible a chance to read over the course of an evening.

Multiple submissions by a single writer are wel­come. Please submit each title separately.

To submit, please email PDF, Word or "Final Draft" format documents: submissions@finaldraught.com.

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. Hardcopies may be mailed to: Bob Hume I Final Draught 207 - 1928 E. 11th Ave Vancouver. British Columbia V5N 1Z2

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(Hardcopies of scripts will not be returned.)

NEED LEGAL ADVICE?

The Law Students' Legal Advice Pro-(LSLAP runs FREE clinics at

CARNEGIE CENTRE 401 Main St. (and Hastings)- 3rd floor

7-9 PM on Tuesdays DROP-IN, NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY

Call 822-5791 for more information or visit: www .lslap.bc.ca

Love The leaves now start to fall The robin sings its song Why does it seem like fall? Perhaps there's something wrong Could it be that love is lost? Or was it never found? Because the silence within me Indicates no sound. They say it is better to love and lose Than never to have loved at all But if only I had the right to choose

Relocalize Now! Getting Ready for Climate Change and the End of

Cheap Oil - A Post Carbon Guide This timely guide from the Post Carbon Institute

analyses the full depth of the crisis of industrial civi­lization, outlines the centrality of the global eco­nomic system in this crisis, and then proposes a plan for the global relocalization of our way of life. It promotes the idea of people recreating local com­munities - or "outposts" - at the level of neighbor­hood and nation that can begin to build "parallel public infrastructures" for survival, along with ways of networking efforts together for wider support.

Feb.15: Alice MacKay Room, Central VPL, 350 West Georgia. 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Free.

Julian Darley is the founder of the Post Carbon In­stitute and Global Public Media. An environmental philosopher and journalist, he is the author of High Noon for Natural Gas: The New Energy Crisis

ADVENTURES IN MUSIC READING WITH COLLEEN MURIEL

Come hear all about notes. You know .... all that fun shrlfaboutconnectingthesoundtothewritten notes ..... and chords .... if you a:re trying to learn to play guitar or piano or just want to learn what all those cool musical terms mean this course is for you

ONLY FOUR WEEKS OF LEARNING TO READ MUSIC .... you don't want to miss this.

The notes of the Treble Clef, Bass Clef, Chords, Sharps and Flats, Time Signatures and lots of other stuff. Bring your questions and most importantly 5ring Yourself And A F riend ....... We'll See You

Soon!!!

I'd rather trip than fall. St rf Th d F b 9th ---- Fj a tng urs ay, e ruary , (~-:~

In love again, 3- 5 PM in the Theatre ~--~ -:::· ~_: • ! ~·----:-- ..

Dtana (Gypsy) Paul . - ---- -~-- _________________ ________ _ ~ -:_:_~-,~~=-~::-~:~~~-~;~:; r'hl·s was wr1·tten l·n the Sprl·ng oif '68 My husband beat --·::.-- -- --f--7 :-:::-:-~---~--3- ---- . J_ _ __ :: -·-· --~ --::~-:-----~-~::>-1 I o - - - ------· ·---,~~' •• ~--· <ltn.' ..,~ . ·• - - ------ --- . --- -· ~----- _..... ..._....

/" - - --- --me up many times, even when I was 16117 and preg- e ---- • • • • •

• nant with Johnny. ]/eft him, taking only my baby, but · Spaee ts !•nnied i~ I 0 ~ritetpant~ so please !HI. was murdered by bikers over a cocaine debt on stgn up uaih Htk~ by ealbng Dec.17 '97. I 'm here to find his killers. He was born on t604) ~ 3003 or ~••Dg up io ihe 3rd May 281'67 and he 'd have been 39 in 2006. I miss him. floor Program Offiee

DOWNTOWN. EASTSIDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY

NEEDLE EXCHANGE VAN- 3 Routes: 604-685-6561 Cit}: - 5:45pm - II :45pm

. 49 W.Cordova 604-251-3310

FREE - Donation• accepted.

NEWSLETTER THIS NEWSLEITER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION

Articles represent the views of individual contributors wtd not of the Association

Overnight- I 2:30am- 8:30am Downtown Eastside- 5:30pm - 1 :lOam

CARRY MY SONG

Carry my song to the lonely and dispirited Down dark alleys with lurking shadows For those lost souls who yearn for home Let my melody carry them To join a unison of songs Where we are joined in a chorus.

John Roberts Music

Editor: PauiR Taylor; cover+ layout, Diane Wood.

Submission ~eadlin~ for nP.Yt i~~~~P.~

Carnegie Community Centre

2006 DONATIONS Libby D. -$100 Barry for Dave McC.-$100 Rolf A.-$50 Margaret D. -$40 Christopher R. -$30 Mary C-$10 Bruce J.-$15Gram -$200 RayCam-30 Janice P .-$30 Wes K.-$30 Paddy -$10 Glen B.-$25 John S.-60 Penny G.-$50 MP/Jelly Bean -$20 Michael C .- $30 Anonymous -$5 Humanities 101-$100 Leslie S.-$20

Friday, February 10 -------------------- ·-

Contributors are not permitted to malign or attack or relegate · any person or group or class, including drug users and poor people, to a level referred to or implying ' less than human' .

Working for You

Contact Jenny Wai Ching Kwan

MLA

1070-1641 Commercial Dr V5L 3Y3 Phone:775-0790 Fax:775-0881

Downtown Eastside Residents Association 12 E. Hastings St, or call682-0931

· DaHeiHf Yo"' Stlfll It's no secret. Stress is a prime cause of accidents,

illness, and both mental and physical breakdown. Most people are even aware that holding in or re­pressing their feelings can be just as harmful as any threat that comes from outside.

DNceiiUJ yo, Btl94 is a safe space to let go of . whatever you might be holding on to that blocks your joy. Your dance is unique. Your edge is how far you are willing and able to go. Join us on the edge to express your deepse)f and dance yourself free. Workshops are held at Carnegie gym the sec­ond Sunday of the month. Arrangements can also be made for the workshop to be held for your group or workplace.

Carnegie gym new time: 1-3 every second Sunday of the month

Health Contact Centre Saturdays 1-2

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IS JUST A FOUR LETTER ORD

FEBRUARY POETRY NIGHT IN THE CARNEGIE THE~ATRE, 401 MAIN ST.

SATURDAY FEB.4 at 7 pm Open mike

Free admission Free coffee

..-SIIow Yot.r All•ellolt"

1t~tlr14ary 6 - Marell +, 2006

Multimedia Group Exhibition

Free Workshop- Making Valentine Cards with Famous Empty Sky

Sunday, February 12, 2 - 4 pm

featuring the work of Solange Belleforte, Patricia J. Davitt, Lisa David, Famous Empty Sky,

Harry Grunsky, Sharalee Regehr,

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Ann Vicente, Margie White and Joyce Woods Curated by Katherine Polgrain

Opening Reception February 8, 6:30- 8:30pm Artist Talk 7:30pm

At the Britannia Art Gallery Britannia Library

1661 Napier St., Vancouver Info 604-718-5800/britanniacentre.org

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