April 1, 2005, carnegie newsletter

Caii'ed4ieA0L S GOOD-BYE MICIIAEL!

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Michael Clague. alsu knuwn as lheCodfiJther - er- CiJmegielJirector(tu his friends), has this idea that he's retiring came ApriI15 ~.

Yuucan see him wandering around the Centre tryingtnlank busy. but clicking away inside his head is this timer that says "17 mora days!

16 mere days!"

Anywav, on the 15 ~ there is guing tu be what he assumes is his farewell party from 3pm tn 5pm.. l it-l it-Itt

BBB

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1. 2005

The 25th Annual * Fool's Day Parade

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SUNDA v, April t he 3rd, 2005 Gather at High Noon • Rain or Shine Meet at the Aquatic Ce nt re (1050 Beach) • Und er the Big Tree • and Follow the W est End S eawall with the Beloved C A RN I VA L BAND This Years Theme:

• I"OOL 01<' '1'1I 1<J YEAH * -)))) Come as Your Favori te Fool AND COMPETE For the CrO\\l1 Of This Year' s King or Queen of Foo ls

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F 0 0 L D ETA I L S: w"w.foo ls-society.com foolishrliifools-society.com (604) 44 4 - MUSE A para de in honour of Fool's Day, and the electio n of this year's King or Queen of Fools, to be crowned by public accla mation, begins at High Noo n on Sund ay, April the 3rd.

The Fool's Day Parade is a Vancouver traditi on - a homegrown display of absurd dress , notions and behaviour - and the public is invi ted to j oin the fun, in or out of coslume.

11,e renowned spectacle, featuring floats, stiltwa lkers , Human Beings In Silly Costumes, and major hoopla, spotlights participants costumed as the nominated Fool s of the Year. Among this year 's nominees arc Steph en Harper, Larry Ca mpbell, Micha el Jacks on, Co ndoleeza Rice, Lome Maycncou rt, Geo rge Bush Sr., and Pope Bono the First.

(We sadly note that our previous cro wn hold er, Mr. Gordo n Ca mpbel l, has abd icated from the thronc.)

The nom inations were made by a select board under thc auspices of Vancouver's official Fools' Day Committee . Co mpeti tion for the Crown is fierce , as hopefuls vic for dom inance after gruel ing weeks of trai ning in hula hoop ing, belly flopping, ton gue twisting and pic throwing. The Parade is also the highl ight of Vancouver's ann ua l Foolishness Wee k , proclaimed by Mayor Larry Ca mpbe ll for April 1st to the 8th (see www.fools-society.com ).

During this holiday observance, mirth, havoc, and nonsense reign supreme for one entire wee k. Given

such swee ping 'Foolish License', authorities arc advised to be on guard as of April l st, as the whipped crea m has bee n kno wn to l1y thick and fast.

Th oug h the Co mmi ttee is sworn to secrecy, foolish emissary Godfrey Dan iels gave a hint of re velations to come as he qu ipped, "we 'll s pare no hum iliati on to ensure our place in the international spotlight".

Don't forget , the Parad e happens rain or shine on Sunday, April 3rd at Noon , so brin g the famil y, with bells on ! Participants can j oin in the ceremonies and parade alon g the West End Seawall, led by memb er s of the beloved "Carni val Band" .

J K UDOS!! Cultivating C ult ure on th e East Side I would like to thank the lady who plays the piano and does seenes from the Opera and who delights in dressi ng like Madame Butterfly . I thorough ly enjoyed the performances, both at Carnegie and at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.

Efforts like these have brought a growing interest and a[ppreeiation in Opera and its music. It has been (nd hopefully will continue to bela learning exper ence and a real joy. Thank you very much!

Daryl

CARNEGIE MUSIC PROGRAM

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Happy Year ofthe Rooster.

So here I am, first officia l day of spring, racking my psyche for some clever way of introduci ng a se miregular page to the Carnegie Newsletter by talking about spring , roosters, first columns, getting out of bcd, getti ng started, etc. etc. etc. and all I can hear, running around the hinterlands of my brainpan is one of those screw) ' mental hamsters (stupid songs you can't get out of your head are a perfect exa mple.) I've still got a column to write.

Yes it's true, the Tuesday evening cabaret has reintroduced 'feature' nights where featured Carnegie musicians have a half hour set (with pay!) to hone those skills that can only be learned on a stage in a formal setting. Features are monthly, usually around the 15th of each month.

Another 'thing' the music program is reintrodu cing is the dreaded 'Acoustic Night.' Well no, not 'dreaded', (I wonder who'll get that...) but a night where the term unplugged applies. Last Tuesday of each month, bring.your mandolins and zithers!

As most Carnegie patrons, (Carnegie patrons sounds so corporat e, lets call'em " Carnys") As most Carnys know, a couple of years back a CD was created by Carnegie musicians. The CD projeet has had a nice byproduct - Profits! (Yeah, there's that corporate thing again ; Profits.) The profits from the CD were discussed at an open musicians meeting earlier this year where it was deeided how to apply the money to the program. New equipment in the theatre is one of

the results. (There appears to be a small undergr ound movement to start a second Carnegie CD project. If

this idea takes shape we'll keep yo u updated through this newslcttcr.)

Freguent"路 Asked Ouestions : Times: T uesday 2:00 pm. (s ign up at I :45t 7:00pm. Cabaret. (sign up at 6:45) (Yes we do take a slippe r breakl) Wednesday I2noon, till 4pm. (sign up at 11 :45) All Welcome both dal'sl Jam Sessions: Most people call the afternoo n sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday ja m sessions', includin g me, bul if you're one of those musicians who docs a lot of j ammin' yo u know that set rules for allowing everyone who comes an opportunity to play isn 't exactly how a j amworks.Drawing names from a hat to decide who plays when also isn't exactly how a jam works . ( When anyone out there has a better name to usc for these afternoon sess ions, please leI us know.)

Format: Names drawn at random from the sign up sheet determine whose stage it is for the 15 or 30 minute time slot. The time is also chose n by whomever is drawn , subject to time slots being avai lable.

Tha t person also decides who plays, or sits in during the set, subject to Carnegie final discretion.

No te: Instruments are supplied for usc. Please respect that other musicians helped 10 put those instruments there with efforts like the first Carneg ie CD project.

The Carnegie music program also includes Friday 's Song Circle, hosted by Dave Botten, a stage band program run by Earle Peach, and various singing programs and choirs. We'll try to get the people involved to help keep everyone informed about their programs through this column. Till next time, M

The Silence Concerning Poverty Is a Crime Against Humanity Poverty causes tremendous hardship for people. It's not just thai some people arc rich and others arc poor. It's that some people live and others die. Poverty is a major cause of homelessness, poor health , poor performance in school , and street crime The refusal to discuss the issue of poverty seriously by many politicians aud the media is a crime against humanity Vou know as well as I do that the poorer you arc, the worse health you 're likely to have . Toronto's Department of Public Health has said, "Poverty may be one of the greatest health hazards any society has ever faced ,"( I ) and the Ontario Medical Association put it like this, "Poverty kills more people than cancer." (2) One of the most important things we could do to improve the health of people would be to end poverty. Vct thc word poverty is rarely mentioned. Dr. Dennis Raphael at York University says that governments and health authorities are ignoring years of research that link povert y and ill health . "What can you do to threaten the health of the population in general?" Dr. Raphael asks , and then he answers his own question, "Well, you reduce welfare payments, removesocial housing units, eliminate rent control, and don't raise the minimum wage." (3)

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Concerning school performance, the sociology of education has shown for over forty years that the school system divides society on the basis of income and wealth. As a rule, the poorest students drop out first and the richest last - not because the poor students are stupid, but because there is a lot of insecurity and financial hardship in their lives , and the school system discriminates against them . "Poverty is the underlying cause of illiteracy," said Carman St. John Hunter, a highly respected adult educator. "Without any proven will to break the chain of poverty, no government has been able to make significant progress toward universal literacy." (4) Also, the Canadian Teachers' Federation has warned that unless we citizens address the economic inequality that lies behind much of the failure in school, our school remedial programs w;1I have little effect.

(5) Vet the word poverty is seldom mentioned in the discussion about improving the performance of children who arc struggling in school. It's as though politicians and the media owners were blind , or else they didn't want us to know about the forty years of research that link poverty and poor school perform ance.

In his important essay, "The Roots of Addiction in Free Market Society," Bruce Alexander describes the links between poverty, dislocation, exclusion and addiction, and he says that building a just society where everyone is included is essential for an addic tion-free society. (6) Elliott Currie says the same thing in his book , "Reckoning - Drugs, The Cities And The American Future." (7) Currie acknowledges that addiction crosses class lines, but he points out that the problem of drug addiction for poor people, plagued by lack of money, unemployment, undcr-cmployment, racism, and extreme exclusion , carries an overwhelming sense of despair. Although Currie would be a strong supporter of the City of Vancouver's Four Pillar Approach to addiction, he says, "We will not police, treat or imprison our way out of the drug crisis" (Currie, p.6). He states that , "The link between drug abuse and (social) deprivation is one of the strongest in forty years ofresearch" (Currie, p.77) , and he calls for a just society of full employment at decent wages.

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In his book "Confro nting Crime - An American Challenge", (8) Elliott Currie makes the connection, based on many years of research , between poverty, unemployment and street crime. He says that the evidence tells us that most youth in trouble with the law, desist from crime not because they're afraid of being caught and imprisoned but because the rewards of becoming a valued and productiv e member of a community begin to outstrip the lures of delinqu ency (Confro nting Crime, p.57). Powerful deterrents to street crime are stable commu nities, decent jobs, decent wages, and social program s that lin people out of poverty . Yet poverty is a taboo word among most politicians and the media. Or as Jim Matkin, head of the Busines s Council of B.C. in ' 1992, said, "From a business point of vi ew Canada doesn't have a wealth distribution problem ." (9) The abysmal silence concern ing the exten t and the effects of poverty in Canada and in the world is a crime against human ity.

Sandy Camero n

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( I) "The Unjust Society: A Challenge /0 Public Il ealth," Department of Public Health, Toronto, November, 1985.

(2) Brief to the Ontario Social Assistance Review Committee, by the Ontario Medical Association, January 9, 1987.

(3) "Governm ents ignoring link between oovcrty and disease,

by Prof.lan Elliot, The Kings/on Whig-Standa rd, ScI' 25, '02. (~) "Mvths and Realities of Literacynlliteracy," by Carman St. JOM Hunter, in Convergence, vol.XX, #1, 1987.

(5) "Children, Schools and Poverty," published by the Canadian Teachers' Federation, Ottawa, 1991.

(6) "The Root. of'Addiction in Free Market Society," by BruceAlexander, The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives,200 l.

(7) "Reckoning ~ Drugs. 17,e Cities And TireAmerican FulI,re," by Elliott Currie,l lill & Wang, 1993.

(8) "C01!fro" tinRCrime - An AmericQ11ClrallenKe," by Elliott Currie, Pantheon Books, 1985.

(9) "Action Canada Dos.â&#x20AC;˘ier," #35, JanlFeh, 1992.

On Being a Craz y Perso n What does it mean to be crazy?

Who decided on the definition?

Insane Nuts Bonker s Waeko Looney Cracke rs What do all these words really mean? Nuts arc served at parties in fancy dishes Loon ies are onedollar coins Crackers go good with ehccse I have thoughts, feelin gs, wants , desires and needs Just like any normal person And normal is a setting on the dryer Am I truly crazy?

That indeed is the question .

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

Why did the chicken cross the road?

What motivat ed that bird, to make it want to take that risk?

Was it food, a pretty face, a cheap thrill?

Or mere curiosi ty?

Will we ever know?

And what is in the pot at the end of the rainbow ?

The Fool Hey- yeah! The fool is back Back toplay tricks and tell jokes To make ustIlink about tile absurdities of life and All tilezaniness tIlat waits to be tapped in eNery one ofus Hey- yeah! Ain'tlife grand?

Get up eNery day and see all tile beauty However it comes, whatever form it takes Like the swi~ of colours in a soap bubble Ortile smell of coffee perking Thesweet sound oflaughter, tile murmur of a stream Hey-yeah! There's good in everyone Sometimes it's harder fa see And maybe tIlose are tile folks who Need understanding tile most Not tobejudged, justtobeaccepted Even though they be ontile bottom We're all people together, justhuman All poems by Louise de Plume

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The War is on People. not on Drugs I was talking with some people today about the Hislory of the last 10 years aro und the Downtown Eastside, I got horne and felt exhausted, and promptly fel l asleep for a vel)' rare aftern oon nap . The co nvcrsation mak es me tired, and remi nds me of all the energy I have given towards a problem that very few peo ple arc actually co mmitted to solving . We can talk about the history, dep ict the struggle for harm redu ction, human right s, and it goes on. and we should talk about it. But I left feelin g un inspired and sad. All the peopl e I met with are good committed people, and there arc lots of them around, but what co ntinues to this day in the DTES co mmunity is a co llection of peopl e who hold pow er and will not let go, who are j ust as guilty as our governments for not respo nding to the crisis that has happened here in the last 10 years and longer, wh o are stuc k in their ideas of who 'deserve d care and kindness and who doesn't, who is right and who is wrong, w ho has better politics, who is really doing harm redu ct ion , who is actually savi ng peo ple and on it went and on it goes .

The war is on people, not on drugs. Man y would arg ue, but it co mes down to being ab out peopl e and the dru gs and the money arc j ust ways of getting us to hurt each other and ourselv es. Our Free Market

economy is designed to create winners and losers, and we nee d to be at war in order for that system to func tio n. What the hell would happen if decision s were made based on what was best for the enviro nment and our co mmunities , and tha t people knew wha t it felt like to have enough, and feci like they arc eno ugh . I imagi ne the wa r would end.

I continue to this day to feci traum ati zed by my tim e on the co me r of Mai n and Hastings, all the death , the viole nce, the eo mplaccney, the manipulat ion , the righteo usness, and the ignorance , I rem ember this one day so clearly in my head, it was Jul y 2 1st 200 I and o ne of my last days on the Carnegie Street Progra m. Th e day started off with hearing ab out a regular at Carneg ie dying and moved to sitt ing with this amazing woman named Rhonda in the alle y behind the Carnegie Centre with my co-worker Dixie.

We were treatin g her wounds whi ch had reo pened ; her muscl e tissue was exposed and it was clear she had been throu gh a lot of physical and emotio nal trauma, she had in fact been dra gged 100 ft by a car dri ven by a bad date she had . Her spiri t however was far from crush ed ; she had us laughing for a lon g time . I had so me herbal medici ne thai she was happy (0

usc on her wounds, it was medicine she knew

from her own Firs t Nations trad itions, we talked, brought her down lunch , hugged and said goodbye .

Soon after a yo ung Honduran boy ab out 13yrs old was walking around looking 10SI, said he was ther e to meet a wom an from a Stree t Church mini stry, his English was not good, so I asked o ne of the deal ers I knew to tran slate . His story kept changing, but I mad e a few ca lls to sec wh o co uld help him , but no o ne was aro und, it was Sa turda y. I took him upstairs to Carnegie, bough I him d inner, he laughed at my feebl e atte mpts at Spa nis h and my usc of charades to talk to him. There wasn't mu ch to do, so I had intr odu ced him to a Lat in A merican g uy wh o was a regular in Carnegie and really nice, and asked him to look out for him wh ile he was arou nd, hugg ed him goodbye and wished him luc k. I went home, and did what I did everyday that I worked out there, lie down look at the ceiling thin k about what happened and then wake up the next morning and think of how things could be better, how this can be solved, how the war against each other will end. I

-- , Johns As Rapists When a person uses the threat of inflicting pain in order to commit sexual assault upon another, this is known as rape. Consider this : Whcn a john meets a heroin-sick girl, she is already in pain. It is also a threat to not relieve her of thatg pain that leads to allow his actions. Couldn 't this be seen as rape too?

Each one says " Give me what I want or suffer pain t" One says ' I' m going to inflict pain' and the other says 'I'm going to let you remain in pain' .

In either case the girl's submission is brought about through pain. I don't sec the difference.

Randy GOT A SMOKE,

BUDDY?

One of our Carnegie members met a man who was

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realized that day, that there aren't enough people that want It to end, there arc 100 many people in fact who depend on things to stay exactly as they are, they have people to support, missions to accomplish, and a fundamental belief that nothing can be done , except what is being done , and that's just the wav it is.

So I realized that day something about myself that I need to believe things will be different, that the war can end, and that we arc all capable of more than maintaining a social condition that limits all of us.

That my hope lies in looking at what drives us to addiction, rather than the addiction. That our spirits arc what's at stake, what 's up for grabs to anyone and anything that will lill the void, and that our spirit is what requires harm reduction, treatment. prevention and re-enforcement. My hope lies with people who don't have an answer but have the will and the energy to make a difference, My hope lies with people who arc out on the street and not connected to organizations, but create family and support in the face of tremendous challenges. My hope lies with me, and with you, because ultimately It is up 10 all of us to create a better world and to do better for each other , because we arc all capable of way more than this.

By Sharon Kravitz

trying to sell one shoe, which was clean and in good shape, for $5. The salesman had no idea where the other shoe was . The computer room user talked him down to $2. Then reasoned that since the salesman did not know where the other shoe was, decided to take it down to $.50 for that lonely shoe. But in the end the salesman was willing to settle for I cigarette in exchange for the shoe. Our Carnegi e member did not have a cigarette so the deal fell through .

By DORA SANDERS

FIlEE To be free is to forgive To be free is to let go Be frec to talk about what you're thinking and feeling . you'll never know if someone you know is going through the same things you're going through You'll be so grateful That you arc not alone .

Sandra}.

The flavour of human rights at Carnegie Have you noticed anything about the Camegie.coffee vou've been drinking since last July? The pncc has 'stayed at 50 cents , and the taste is good. There's something else that you might not be able to laste, but might make you feel better when you know II. Nobody was exploited to grow the coffee. That's right, Carnegie, the Gathering Place, and all city outlets that sell coffee have been using fairly traded coffee since July.

Not only that, but the city has passed a new Ethical Purchasing Policy to ensure that "City of Vancouver lax money will no longer be used to support sweatshops, child labour or forced labour," according 10 city councilor Tim Louis .

The city has adopted a Supplier Code of Conduct to ensure healthy and safe workplaces where human and civil rights are upheld for people who make products for the city. An international organization called Fair Trade Labelling International momtors and certifies that producls meet lntcrnational Labour Organization slandards. In Canada another organizalion called Tran.Fair Canada licences and audits the products and processors. .

So far nearly I million farmers in 44 developing countries arc working 10 produce Fair Trade certified products . This means the workers and fanners must be fairly compensated for their labour and products ; sustainable environ mental practices must be used ; social services must be improved; and investment like a water pump for the community, for example, must be made in local economic infrastructure. On plantations no forced labour or child labour of anyone 15 or undcr can be uscd . Traders must pay a price thai covers costs of sustainable production and a living wage.

So far there are only a few products that have been certified by TransFair Canada. They inelude coffee, tea, rice , bananas, mangoes, cocoa, sugar, honey and

fruit juices. Larry Berglund, the City's Manager of Materials Management, is in charge of the ethical purchasing plan . He says the City will honour existing contracts and begin acquiring fair trade products as those contracts expire. The Ethical Purchasing Policy also applies to clothes purchased by the City.

The city's plan requires full disclosure of factory and production facility locations of suppliers and subcontractors and independent facility inspections if desired by the city .

Aceording to Bill Saunders, presidenl of the Vancouver and District Labour Council , "This is... the most comprehensive Ethical Purchasing Policy developed by any municipality in North America:" .

"I'm really proud of this," says Carnegie ASSOCIatIon vice president Muggs Sigurgeirson. "We have 10 . think about our values ." With the Ethical Purchasing Policy, "our society sets a standard and we don't have to investigate every single thing we buy 10 make sure it's not exploiting anyone." Besides, "I think [the coffee I tastes better than the coffee we were using before," says Catriona Moore of the Carnegie kitchen .

By Jean Swanson

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We're hopi ng that Downtown East Siders wi ll ~ , avail able to flick the switches lor us when the caba ret beg ins o n a reg ula r basis. Sta tion o rien tations are held o n the third Tuesday 01 every month a t 6 pm (so, for exa m ple , March 15). The add ress is 1 10 - 360 Colum bia Street.

II you' ve ever wa nted to be inv ol ved in co mm unity radi o , this is a g reat introd ucti on to wha t is invo lved . If you want more in for ma tion a bou t the Radi o Statio n Ca bare t, talk to Da n at 6 0 4665-22 13 .

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Homelessness wo rksh op postponed The specia l Ca rnegie works hop on homelessness has been postpo ned. It will not be held on April 11 as first planne d becaus e t he City has change d the date for hearing fr om memh ers of the puhlie about its Homel ess Action Plan. Watch this newsle tter for the new wo rkshop date, proh abl y in May. At the works hop people will he able to : • get more info on hornele ssness; • get help writing and sendin g letters to politic ians about homele ssncss ; • learn what's likely to happen at C ity Hall and how you can get on the speake rs list ; • work ou t your speech to Ci ty Counc il.

The Radio Stotio n C ab oreI proj ect wants to en~ cou rage people 10

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consi der ge tting in -

102.7~ Ra(l io~ va lved wi th C FRO

C o- o p radio, the community radio station just down the street.

New Work hy Noelle Nadeau and Cheris e Clarke April 1-30, 2005 Opening reception : Friday, April I, 2005, 7-lOpm. 2allery gachet 88 E.Cord o\'3 The limitless possibilities of sound, light, colour, and form arc what drives Noelle Nadeau's 2""exhibition in her series on colour. Collabo rating with Cherisc Clarke they explore the many nuances of green.

Noelle Nadeau 's approa ch to the colour grecn is much like the unfolding of a bloom. Embrac ing thc connection to the heart charka , this Vancouver artist explores - through abstract form - the ancient green terrain of healing, love, expans ion, and growth .

Cherisc Clarke is mainly a figurati ve artist and illustrator based in Vancouver, and her work travels outwar d, circling the verbal connections the word green conjure s. These .works arc an homage, a celebration, a lament, an imploring, and a question.

Public hours are Wednesday /0 Sunday . / 2-5I'm.

Detox games Sometimes one wonders if the game isn 't slanted in such a way that the little guy, the addict or the poor person . gets the shaft more often than not. The scum slumlords cop your damage deposit when you find their substandard, filthy rooms unbearable, only to move out without notice and forfeit the money .

Recently I played the detox game and came to the conclusion that detox in Vancouver is kind of a sad joke. After a half-dozen calls and the daily interrogation, I was coerced into settling for the Cordova Detox instead of the Vancouver Dctox on 2"' Avenue.

The difference between the two facilities is like night & day. Cordova is too small , overcrowded, and provides a service (if you can call it that) far below the level of Vancouver Detox . Whether that has anything to do with Cordova's religious connections is open to debate ...

You're jammed into a large room, horseshoe-shaped wrapped around the nursing sial ion, with absolutely no privacy whatsoever. Consequently, not only do you have your own withdrawal to deal with, you are also subjected to the misery of everyone around you .

Here I am, sicker than a dog, and in the next bed Joe Blow brays on how the Longshoremen's Union forced him into detox but he's got 2 grams of heroin in his pocket. All you need when you're joncsing is some dude telling you he 's got a whack of dope on him. Thanx for telling me, buddy . On the other side was some yahoo tormented by nightmares. He would scream in his sleep as soon as he fell asleep .

Listening to his subconscious psychosis for the better part of a night was only outdone by his rip roaring snoring that kept everyone within 20 yards awake. Needless Joe Sapnose wasn 't my favouri te person .

I was struck by the happy tones of a clique of30 year-olds who didn 't seem sick at all and seemed to enjoy the shelter and food offered up. Long after their sickness is over some inmates stay overly long sucking up the food and waiting to be released to

some treatment centre. It looked like one long easy nde for some dudes hiding in detox avoiding the grim realities of patching up their shattered lives.

I've known people who check into detox to avoid the vengeance of those they've burnt on the street.

It's a safe place to hide and avoid the lumps prom ised by unhappy dealers and buyers ; a convenient out from a bad scene in the real world of drugs aud violence.

One older guy, who on one hand seemed intelligent enough, startled me with his endless spouting of the treatment lingo . Sounding like he'd just read every book ever written about treatment, he had the treatment rap down to a fine art. Playing the treatment game, knowing the rap, the right answers to the end less questions, helps a person get safely off the street for up to 6 months . Play the game and live better than you ever would , left to your owu devices. The treatment game comes with its own language and built-in rewards for being good at it.

Oue kid told me he's been detox at least 25 times .

At what point does one conclude that the program doesn't work? I venture this dude became addicted to the treatmeut game and took regular holidays in detox to avoid the reality of street life .

The length of one's stay is wonky too . Long after you're done with the kicking you can hang around sponging up on goodies and smoking endless cigarettes, playing endless crib games, and sharing the fellowship of other people playing the same game.

There I am sick sick sick and these clOWl1S arc ehcerful as all get out and coasting on the free ride for as long as they can . I swear for 2 days I was the only one actually in withdrawal. My cynical nature was only hardened by the obvious bullshit I saw around me.

I won 't even get into the staff, save to say I found them lazy, confrontational, basically anal-retentive to the max ... so I suppose hypoerisy is uuiversal and endless and I waste my own time caring about the abuses of the system.

It strikes me that while these people are all playing detox games, there are people outside honestly looking for a way out of horrible addiction who are being denied access because the facilities are full of people seamming the system .

Scam on the street , scam in the slam. Disa ppointment in the way Ihings arc run would be an understatement; after 3 days of pain I ehcck ed out, leav ing the players to play their dctox ga mes ad nauseum .

I came to the concl usion that if one wa nts 10 kick a habit, one is better off doing it alone in your own space, frcc of the ga me and all the bullshit buj ilt right into the process .

So next time I'll just go to my roo m and spare myself the crap . I know we, as a society, can do better.

My question is: Why don 't we? The fact that the success rate of trea tment facilities is a mere 3% seems 10 validate my feelings that the way it is don' t work too damn well at all. .

AI Loewen

On Janis Joplin In this world you read the papers, yo u know everybody' s fight ing with each other. You gol no one you can co unt on Lord, not eve n your own broth er. Bul when someone comes along and gi ves you some love and affec tion, get it while you ca n. Don ' t turn your back on love. No! No! No! No !

Janis Joplin, I believe, through her alcoh ol & street drug days, believed in God ... look at some lyrics Love is like a tree, baby, jus t takes time 10 gtow It gets stronger day by day At a price we all have to pay Trust in Me .. .

So if you love me like you tell me yo u do dear You should pay the price, my price, any priee Love is supposed to be the speci al kind of thing Make anybody want to saerifice.

I used to do Janis Joplin so ngs on guitar and I done a good job. It was Charles Armstead , Whitn ey Houston' s ex- manager, who got me 10 play Janis Joplin's hit song "Me and Bobby Mctlee", written by Kris Kristoffersen. I got up on stage at Maples Inn and near done myself out on that song. I' ve always liked her sluff and would still do it today - if she heard me she'd be pleased .

Music is good for you and I hope to get back-up so I can feel the thrill.

Thanks folks, for read ing this.

Jude (Annie)

HUMANITIES 101

II

Here are a few even ts happening at the C a r negie or are open to the Carnegie Centre Comm unity:

Humanities 101 Free Public Lecture Ginger Grant, speaking on Carl Jung and Heroes.

Facilitated by Mary Robertso n Friday April l si 7pm, Classroom #2 Aboriginal Stud" Group As part of our Community Read ing and Writi ng Group Series , Launching an Aborigi nal Study Group, which will hold its firsl meetin g at the Carnegie Centre on Saturday April 9th, I :15 - 2:30pm, in Classroo m #2. If you wo uld like to part icipate, please call 604 .822 .0028 and leave your name.

Financial Literacy Training WorkยงholJ In co njunctio n with Humanities 10 I, Family Services of Greater Vancouver is offering this foureve ning mini-eourse on financial literacy (credit, banking, etc) 10 low-income people. This is not a drop in: it is a four e vening course thai will run on April 8, 15, 22, and 29, from 7 - 9p m. Although this was scheduled for the Carnegie Cent re, due to space restri ctions the workshop has been moved to UBC Robson Square. A few spaces are still ava ilable : call 604.822.002 8 if you arc interested .

To the Ed i tor.~~~~

~ I have co me to the end of the creative writi ng grou p. It was a gre at experience...at least half of the gro up was homeless. One man had a manuscript about ships and it was good. He had it wra pped in layers of plastic in his large bag: the research and photos were first class . He was from bac k east and I only saw him a couple of times. I hope he found a home.

People who are homeless -so metimes their poe m is the only item of value they have. One man wan ted 10 sell his poem; he was scar ed so meone wo uld steal it Anyway ...l enjoye d this time and hope to co me back and do so mething else (don' t know what yct.)... love,

Sheila Baxter

b

Sweet Lara's Swan Song You were still so much a little girl, I believe 21 in the end, for yo u to be trapped in a nightmare, What to do'? To swim or to fend? And why - 10 fool yo ur few detached fricn ds that remained and still had '! Or would yo u ever make them so ft amends. Ca n yo u laugh now ; arc you sad'! I know of the horror s that yo u have scc n from the fec i of yo ur Ircmbl ing. Ho w can life be so harsh and so me peopl e so mean'!; it's not the way I sec . I co uld read in yo ur dull eyes harrowing themes, hear you r heart slowly breaking an d sense the fracturing of yo ur once soaring dreams. II was all about cruelly stolen innocenec ; curiosity lost and gone, lon g forgo tte n and forever missing, cast off and never 10 be realized again.

You sadly Slas hed yo ur harshened past, lock ed away and sec ure so that no key o n this ea rth co uld ever open il - it was and is up 10 yo u, Lara dear.. 1 was simply eo ntc nt to have you ncar.

You've never made menti on of your frayed and wo rn fee lings . You sec m to 'vc compart me ntalized them in a holl owed out, burning soul , buried alive in a tense, teal)' de spair; unbearable for yo u. Is this not true? I trie d so hard to sy mpa thise and once in a long while you 'd open up, as it were, and leave the door 10 your heart so slightly aj ar. Expose d to the light , it tempered yo ur frights - it seems so long ago - amd yo u slowl y started dropping very gentle, murky,

even mysterious hints in bits and pieces in your tom, hushed voice, trusting in me, knowing I'd not pass j udgement on you , nor criticize - I could sec you in yo ur eyes.

You co uld sec , Lara , that I saw the shaking hurt and remembered fea rs in yo ur brimming ey es and streaming tears, falling down steadily on my now dam pencd sho ulder like tarni shed silver coins. You felt so relieved, as I reca ll, to share so me o f yo ur dar k and haunting sec rets and let go of the alm ost solid despair. You'd cry silently for awhil e, then as a baby crawl bac k to yo ur sec ret, sec ure d space, protecting yo urse lf abo ve all e1sc. You sai d this was yo ur main co ncern - not abo ut sav ing the whole wide world. just sa ving yo urself. As yo u told many times yo u keep fig hting real hard . yo u screamed to bea t off yo ur dem ons - the violations and atr ocit ies, tryi ng to win back your peace of mind .

But then, sWCCI frie nd, you chose 10 slee p - the deep

one, the one with no end. You arc finall y safe and sound, I know, with your face lit up an d yo nr blue eyes aglow. You are t4rul y happy now and for me it is bittersweet in that yo ur life wa s quit e ineompletc.

I still can' t believe that you have flown and I've lost a loved one whcn all is said and dono. Yo u left mc behind and o h so alone, although I can still feci yo ur wa rmth in thc shine of the se tting sun. I imag ine your preci ou s eterni ty and do sere nely rest in pcaee, Lara dear, my extra special friend, w ith no more worri es and no more fear ...

Robyn Livings tone

Woman Wh y art thou forsa ken'?

She of love, wonderful heart marvelou s mind -povc rty stricken, wanderer', lodges whcrcl"c: night overtakes her T hc need o f her womb wa s emp ty

When man came out of woman in her painful travail.

Wh cn the cord that kept us united was cut Patriarchal rel igion, cultura l and s piritua l destruct ion Dri\"c~ by greed, possessiveness, war-mongering Breakin g hearts, destroyin g so ul In a soc iety ba sed on materialistic sex and crime.

Why art thou forsake n Man legali zes ahomiuations T ill wom an dce idcs to have his so ul no more New voices eme rgi ng, daring and pow erful Until s uch timc thou art for sak en wom an.

Ayisha

A

2l

D

m la pr

Hell , Heaven, Earth Hell wants me Heaven wants to take me But Earth needs me I feel like I have been In hell for a bit I have almos t go ne to Heaven But I'm still here Thanks to Creator, god/goddess One day I will find out why I'm needed here Sandra. J

13 Also, a special thank to the many people that gave from their hearts towards this honour ceremony.

This age-old tradition of gifting was truly demonstrated by the Pigeon Park Big Drum Gro up & the Kwakwala Group with their songs and dances; the Carnegie Centre with their food; the Chinatown Plaza florist with their bamboo; Stepping Stone Vi路 sion with their eo pper and especially the childre n with / by their presence. Lastly, the Hey Way Noqu Big Drum Group is recognized for their presence.

The three fates Past, Present and Future was significant in this community event as the Vanco uver Na tive Health Society announced they would be providing a dinner for the whole community through the Carnegie Community Ce ntre Cultura l Sharing Progra m for all to enjoy.

WITHOUT BOUNDARIES Originated

PEOPLE OF THIS LAND An honour ceremony was held on Monday, February 28th, 2005 at the Carnegie Community Centre in the Downtown Eastside and I would like to give recognition to the people of this land for the use of this land. Special recognition goes out to the Elders who provided their guidance for this very speeial event.

July 2004 Carnegie's Quilting Bce with Diane Wood Vancouver Agreement interview with Julia Mark Flnt Panel Recognizing the creation of a leg acy for the Arts in the Downtown Eastside, " In the Heart of a City: The Downtown Eastside Cornmunity Play".

The creation of the work of art can be viewed on the Vancouver Agreement' s website - click on video.

Quilt A variety of appliqu es depicting the Downtown Eastside neighborhood s, races, etc.

"The stroller/railroad crossing and family appliqu e depict the children and their families throughout the Downtown Eastside. The Ray Cam Community Center provided these appliqu es.

"The flowers and earthy shades depicting the gar. dens in Strathcona.

"The bamboo depicting religion comes from a Downtown Eastside temple.

Recipient The recipient was selec ted in correlation to the title, " Without Boundaries".

This society provides a number of different progra ms and their MAT Progra m provides a place for all individuals no matter what their background and \\ithout judgment. Just as there arc no boundaries in any disease.

Artist CrossWorids Submitted by CrossWorids a.k.a. Julia Mark

Why docs the media continue to vilify the Downtown Eastside For Stephen Lytton,Who Cares in spite of the many About The Downtown Eastside beautifu l events that have happened here over the past decade?

No one has worked Profit is one reason. harder than you, Stephen , Unfortunately, tragedy and suffering to share the beauty attract viewers and readers of the Downtown Eastside. and the media alW8VS wants You were in the community play a large audien ce that showed the strength and compassion to present to its advertisers. of our neighbourhood.

In other words, the exploitation You are on the Carnegie Board, of the sufferin g you write for the Carnegie Newsletter, in the Downtown Eastside and always you work, makes money for the media. along with many others, to build a caring community Remember, Stephen, that the media and to bring hope isn't O\\11ed by the journalists, even when it see ms and If reporters don't do that there is no hope. what theirbosses want, No one has more right than you, Stephen, to be angry and disgusted at the corporate-owned and profit-drive n media that labels our entire comp lex, multi-cultural community " skid road", and de humanizes the peop le by refusing to sec the courage and commitment

of many residents here who struggle continuously for a supportive community based on human rights.

At the Carnegie Centre alone there are over 350 volunt eers who make the Centre work and resident-v olunteers ' arc everywhere

in the Downtown Eastside, working to make things better.

they'll get fired .

The media is owned by very wealth y people who vilify the poor in order to defend their OWl1 obsce ne wealth.

For example, the low income community

of the Downtown Eastside sits on valuable land .

Those with great wea lth canno t abide poor peo ple living on land that they, the rich, cou ld make million s of dollars from.

So they vilify the residents of the Downto wn Eastside in order to justify their hoped- for takeove r of our commu nity .

When men of great power denv the humani ty of human bein gs anithe hist ory of a commu nity, thev tend to think thalthe y can destro y both the people and the place without moral qualms .

First Nations people know all about this kind of vilification, and they have survived the raci sm and poor-b ashing of those wh o sei zed their land .

The rest of us can take inspirat ion from their long history of resistance to injustice.

When we were talk ing, Stephen , you and Diane wondered how we keep from becomi ng discour aged.

Hundr eds and hundreds of peopl e do beautiful things in the Downt own Eas tside every day, ye t the media continues to treat us

like shit.

II helps to remem ber that we are part of an enduri ng commu ni ty

with a long history of strugg le for human rights , and many gloriou s victories sueh as fighting for the right to form trade unions,

stopping the bulldozer s from destroy ing Strathco na, and winning Crab Park for the community ,

We do what we do because it is the right thing to do, not beeause we think change will happen quickly .

You're right, Stephen , when yo u say that it takes decades to change altitudes.

If our com mitment depend s o n the hope of fast results, we will bum out quickly .

The struggle to win the Carn egie Commu nity Centre for the Downto wn Eastside look seven years,

and Bruce Eriksen , who never, ever, gave up. was the dri ving forcc behind that fig ht.

Th ere is more integrity and carin g in the work

yo u do, Steph en and Dian e, than in all the boardro oms of cynical and selfish power across the country .

The big results are not in our hand s, but the small, commu nity-bu ilding thin gs that we do eve ry day

arc in our hands, and it is important that we do them .

In a prayer that he wrote in his book Prison Writings My Life Is My Sundan ce , Leonard Peltier said, "Teaeh us to heal o urselves, to heal each other and to hea l the world."

Now there's a tas k for us one day at a time .

Sandy Camero n

(ARNf6;f

VOLVNTff~5

I

Karaui Hwith DUKe Darrell Friday, April 8th, 2005 7 - 10pm in the Carnegie Thea tre Bring out yo ur hidden talent. Co me and sing yo ur heart out with Darrell to s how the way.

Refreshments served to wet your whistle or pipes!

ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF VOLUNTEERING VOLUNTEERS OF THE MO NTH (MA RCH) Martine Van Den Kerkhof, Kitchen Voluntee r Martine joined us way back in May 2000. Martine has consistently and generous ly given o f her time in many places in the Centre, ineluding the Kitchen, Learni ng Centre, Recept ion ist areas and in our 'Computer Lab. We thank yo u Martin e, for giv ing to the com munity in all the ways that yo u do.

Nor ma J ean Baptiste, 2nd Floor and Lane Level Recep tionist, CoITee Seller Norma joi ned us this year, and arc we glad she did !

Her wit, kindness and absolute dedi cat ion to serv ing the people in the Ce ntre is treas ured.

Volunteer P rogram Committee M eeti ng Wednesday, April 13th , 2005 Classroom 2 , 3rd Floor@ 2:00pm All Volu nteers welcome to voice you r ideas and concerns, or just sit, listen and learn .

Volu nteer Dinner _ Wednesday, April 20th , 2004 4 :30pm! (Theatre) This is a dinner for all Volunteers with a minimum of 16 hours service for the mont h of March this dinner is one way we show our apprec iationt o all of yo u for all that yo u do for the co mmunity.

CULTUS LAKE PLANNING MEETINGS It's that time of the year aga in. Spring has sprung the grass has riz, I wond er where the birdies is. June 13 - 17 is the wild week for us urban ca mpers . In order to be eligi ble to go, yo u must atten d two planning meetings : I. Tuesday, May 3rd @ I lam-Noon Theatre 2, Wednesday, May 18th, @ I l am-Noon Thea tre Hospitalization, Medica l appoi ntments or volunteer shifts are the only reaso ns that ' ll get yo u out of this attendance requ irement but yo u must let Marlene or Colleen know in advance . Thank you.

VOLUNTEERRECOCNJnONWEEK: APR IL l 7'h to AP RIL 23'路 inclusive Our annual ce lebra tion of volunteering is my favourite time of the year. We get to thank Carnegie's most valuable asse t - our volunteers - and call atten tion to all that yo u do to improve our co mmunity. We get to tell yo u and the rest of the community how wonderful you arc. By April L thcrc 'Il be a Program Recogni tion Guide for the week to inform you of all the eve nts and trips yo u arc invited to take part in. Friday, April 22 nd is the day of our Volunteer Party (where yo u get 'the' T-s hirt) @ 3-5pm in the Thea tre.

Please come. It won't be the same without you .

Colleen AlTENTION AlTENTION AlTENTION I'm calling on all volunt eers who've been here since the begi nning (1980) and wi th co ntinuous service. As this is the 25th Anniversary as a Community Ce ntre, it is also the Silver Annive rsary for our Volunteer Program. We want to recognize long time Volu nteers with co ntin uous sen 'ice. Bcea use we did not have a volunteer co mputer program 25 years ago, I a m afraid our start date records may be incorrect. If you qu alify, or know of so meo ne who docs, please let the Volu nteer Programmer know. Thanks.

The ba llot box for Volunteer orthe Year wi th be on the 2"" floor recepti on desk, March 27 thru April 4, [Noon] 2005. Everyo ne is enco urage d to submit yo ur nom ination. Selection Process by Volunteer Committee will take place April 4, 2pm in the Scm nar Room on the 3'路 floor.

ARE rUE HfA~T

Of ,"[

(OMMVNiTY

OJNix and friends hel peelebrale Volunteer Recognition Week on Wednesday, April 20th, 2005 _ 7路lOpm in the Carnegie Theatre Get 00wn and get funkyto Cody's uniqueblendof tunes EVERYONE WELCOM E _ ESPECIALLY YOU! Refr eshments served to the thirsty DEVRA 'Downtown Eastside Volunteer Recognition Awards ' WANl'EJ)f! !

Our celebration for Volunteer Reeognition for dif-

Carneg ie 's own Doctor G's ADVICE COLUMN : Now that Dear Abby and Ann Landers (known favourit e advise gi vers, mother figures and confidantes) have gone on 10 eternal syndication, who is there to answer all of our question s? Don't despair. submit your questions 10 Paul Taylor, the Camegie Newsletter Eduor and wail for the next edition.

These submissions can be anonymous or otherw ise, You will know who you arc.

ferent agencies in the community is going to be in

June this year . We arc calling on those who would like to be part of the organizing committee.

IIALXLE ~O..R .YOU Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

So if you feel a smile beg in, don't leave it undetected Let's start an epidemic and get the world infected!

Colleen

. ..well at least she is! We helped Marlene eelebrale with a surprise rendition of the song made pop ular

by Marilyn Monroe " Happy Birthday 10 you" , except the laugh ter was so loud, it drowned out the chorus of loveli es. from left to right: Marlene, Lillie Louie, Austina, Michael "the Boss ". Bubbles the Blonde Bombshell.

Andrea. Egor as the St. Paddy 's Day leprechaun. & Maryan n

DON'T JUMP THE QUEUE, etcetera HONESTY is a luxury - reserved for those wh o have enough.

CIVILITY is a produci dearly bought by eomfort in yo ur own position.

GOOD MANNERS are j ust a smart wav 10 do busi ness . "' A POSITIVE AITITUDE is the produ ci of pur pose and self worth .

KINDNESS and GENEROSITY are only possible whe n yo u have so mething len o ver ALL these ci vilized characteri stics are EXTRAS, easy for thosc who can afford thc expense.

An alternate view from the down side, Wilhelmina

TRANSITIONS The late 60s and the 70s were an interesting time to be making mem orie s. In those days I spell.I a considerable time living o n the street. There were times when I had no choi ce and Ihere were other times whcn I was there beca use "you could lake a kid off the str eet but you couldn 't take the street off the kid ."

Living o n the street in those days was quite different than today because there was no safely ncl or places such as Carnegie Community Centre. Welfare was impossible for a teenager to acquire independently.

The hostels were for people referred by Welfare.

And there were politicians like Bill Vanderzalrn and Tom Campbell saying " why don 't you pick up a shovel and gel ajob ?!"

Durin g my life " on the stree t" I learn ed what " desperate mea sures" means. Man y times a person was one step ahead of the law or death depending on ci rcumstances. And I learned what a " buddy" was . At times thai budd y was your on ly witness or the on ly reason you' re still alive. I learned tha t if somebody was short S5 for a kilo how valuable yo ur S5 was because you got it back and much more. And when you bailed a stranger out of jail, at the request of a friend , repayment was end less, mayb e spanning dec ades.

When ther e was nothing 10 do, we spent hours in co ffee sho ps or cafeteria (Whi te Lunch Co . had three ofthcm on two drags dOWnIO\\n .) We 'd spend hour upon hour sitting around shar ing our plight in life .

Out of this time , spent toget her, we might mu ll problems over and even so lve some.

For sure, life was interesting back then but that was then. There came a time when my trouble was eno ugh that I was no longer that one step ahead of the law and I found it necessary to break away entirely. When Ilell Vancouver, I was sure that this city wou ld soo n chcw me up and spit me ou t if I stayed and that I would never return . Twelve year s later I returned 10 find the fruition of many peopl es ' blood, sweat and , yes, even lears in the form of the Downtown East Side with all its hard earned safe ty nets .

Part of the DT ES is thc Carnegie Community Centre. It is part of a network of what arc called charities , many of which remain open mostly because volunteers are the bul k of their team. I've learned that peopl e consider this place the " living room of the community ." Others ca ll it all. oasis where you ean actually lake a breather from life and nol have 10

worry about your problem s for awhile. A person may, if they wish, impro ve themsel ves and/or their tools and life skills so that they can get back into the n~w of society; a transition, if yo u will.

I didn't take a shine to the Carnegie Community Centre ar first. It was so huge and scary, in my opinion. As fate would have it, though, I started to volunleer here in December 1997. I offer some o f my obserra tions about interaction through the ranks of our volunteer team. First it must be stated that one of the interesting features about our centre is that many of our volunteers are also the rceipients of the services we offer and need that extra care and attention or ju sl that extra understanding. Many arc somewhat vulncrablc to elem ents that an arra y of newcomers might introduce into the environment.

Having been here this long, I've learned that for a lot of people old habits die hard. Although the ability to relax ones barriers or guard is at everyo ne's disposal, automatic reactions to daily e vents can put peace of mind at risk. And yo u know the old adage

"every action creates a reaction.~~ Many times I, personally face problems with people who, when all has been discussed and/or diselosed, have special problems to overcome. It is a real learning experience.

But there arc some things such as the routine of earning trust, respect and other intangibles thai ju st don't change . These things always take time. How long depends on a person 's own progress similarly to a job situation. There are two ways that earned esteem can be approached : - The proper respect and trust may be rendered that person provided their standard is still in tact. That is the standard set by your parents , the church or bible or maybe your environment.

- That person may become a target for newcomers wanting to take a short cut. Therefore more than likely some one needs to look bad in order that somebody else looks good. Ahhh - ambition.

"There are more things in heaven and earth than arc imagined in your philosoph y."(Shakespeare) When it comes to ambition, I' ve see n a myriad of insidiou s andlor mafia type motives carried out because this person thought that their progress was more important than thai person ' s. In the days that I lived the street there was an unspoken code amongst us because we were walking the walk, for real. When you jeopardized sorncbody's well being for yo ur own

selfish desires you were dealt with by your peers. Of course this can hardly be utilized in a community ce ntre for obvious reason s .

Oceasionally somebody tries to promote the semblance of family through our ranks which, it turns out, is all very well on paper but when you add human beings it' s not very long until dissention rears its ugly head . In every " family" there is sibling rival')'. " Mom loves you best" and the like amongst the veterans and when new volunteers start to estab lish themselves well there is something to be left 10 the imagination.

Believe me when I tell yo u it's very, very hard to rise above an onslaught of character assassination.

The scenes in " Lady and the Tramp" (the movie) about the Siamese cats and the ir horribl e treatment toward the poor dog in the household comes to mind. That is when the right people are around we have the next best thing to an angel. But when left alone with the subject vi ctim the devil appears in that same being.

This procedure evo lves in cyc les and see ms inescapable. If you ' re on the outside of the incident or ineidcnccs it ean be quite entertaining to watch. But if yo u're the subject vietim, ohhh boy!

This is but a peak at what mischief can arise when people get too ambitious. But it is nowhere near the full picture. In spit e of these undercurrents, a lot of good comes out of the Carnegie Community Centre.

After all, that is what the focal point is supposed to be, isn' t it'! With no interference we arc able to help people renew themselves and restore the dignity that may have been misplaced. I once heard a story about how some very less fortunate people cared so deepl y about one another. And the punch line was and I quote " It would cos t one candle nothin g to light another candle". And that' s what I try to promote. My procedure may not be so elegant at limes but it is a means to an e nd. I believe that it \\;11 be through love, respect, clarity, truth and wisdom that the whole world will be able to renew. We are but a small portion .

There will come a time for me to depart from this Carnegie Community Centre. I will be known as that grumpy old man by many people. But with those people that I actually help and who care about the things that I do I'll still be here, in their memories .

By Gerald Wells.

Here are the 10 first place winners in the International Pun Contest I. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The stewardess looks at him and says, "I'm sorry, sir, only one carrion allowed per passenger."

2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall . The one turns to the other and says , "Dam!".

3. Two Eskimos silting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can 't have your kayak and heat it 100.

4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says "I've lost my electron" The other says"Arc you sure ?" The first 'replies "Yes, I'm positive."

5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novoca in during a root canal ? His goal : transcend dental medication.

6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories. After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked them to disperse. "But why ?" they asked, as they moved ofT. "Because", he said, '" can't standchess-nuts boasting in an open foyer."

7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named "AhmaJ." The other goes to a family in Spain ; they name him "Juan." Yea rs later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband thai she wishes she also had a picture of AhmaJ. Her husband responds, "They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal. " 8. These friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop 10 raise funds .

Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God. a rival florist across town thought the competilion was unfair. He asked the good fathers to elose down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to elose . They ignored him . So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close . Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent florist friars .

9. Mahatma Gandhi, as vou know walked barefoot most of the time, which 'produced 'an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate verv little which made him rather frail and with his odd diet he suffered from bad breath. This made him ...(Oh, man , this is so bad, it's good)..... A super calloused fragi le mystic hexed by halitosis.

10. And finally, there was the person who sen t ten different puns to his friends, with the hope that at leas I one of the puns would make them laugh. No pun in len did ????

TO "Let Go" Takes Love To "let go" docs not mean to stop caring, it means that I can't do it for someone else .

To "let go" is not to cut myself off, it is the realization that I can 't control another.

To "let go" is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To" let go" is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To "lei go" is not to try to change or blame another, it is 10 make the most of myself.

To "let go" is not to care for, but to care about.

To "let go" is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To "let go" is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being. .

To "let go" is not to be the midd le arranging all the outcomes but to allow others 10 effect their own destinies.

To "let go" in not to be protective, it is to permit another to face real it)'.

To "let go" is not to deny but to accept.

To "lei go" is not 10 nag, scold , or argue, but instead to search out my own shortcomings and to correct

them.

To "let go" is not to adj ust everything to my desires but 10 take each day as it comes, and to cherish myself in it.

To "let go" is not to criticize and regulate anybody but to try to become what I dream I can be.

To "let go" is not to regre t the past, but to grow and to live for the fut ure,

To "lei go" is to fear less and

10

love more.

Sandra Jim

Using tcehniques similar to those portrayed in the celebrated novel the Manchurian Candidate, it was believed that people could be brainwashed and reprogrammed to carry out specific acts. Cameron developed a range of depalleming "treatments" while director of the Allan Memorial Institute at McGill Universitv. Patients were woken from druginduced stupors hVO or three times a day for multiple electric shocks. In a specially designed "sleep room" made famous bv Anne Collins's book of the sam e name, Camero~ placed a speaker under the patient's pillow relaying negative messages for 16 hrs a day.

Kastner was a 19-year-old honours student suffering from mild depression when she first underwent "treatment" in 1953. On returning home she sucked her thumb, demanded to be fed from a bottle, talked in a baby voice and urinated on the floor . She was

Brainwash victims win cash claims

HUNDREDS of mentally ill patients who were subjected to barbaric CIA-funded brainwashing experiments by a Scouish doctor could be entitled to compensation following a landmark court ruling .

Doctor Ewan Cameron, who became one of the world's leading psychiatrists, developed techniques used by Nazi scientists to wipe out the existing personalities of people in his care .

Cameron, who graduated from Glasgow University, was recruited by the CIA during the cold war while working at McGill University in Montreal, Canada .

He carried out mind-control experiments using drugs such as LSD on hundreds of patients, but only 77 of them were awarded compensation.

Now a landmark ruling by a Federal Court judge in Montreal will allow more than 250 former patients, whose claims were rejected , to seek compensation, Gail Kastner, who underwent electroshock treatment at a Montreal psychiatric institute in 1953, and whose claim was rejected 10 years ago, successfully appealed the judgment. .

Lasl week, Alan Stein, of Montreal law firm Stem and Stein, which represented Kastner , confirmed he was in the process of contacting former clients who could now renew their appeal. "There are about 200 people still due compensation," he said . "This judgment should send out strong signals to the Canadian government. Those who have previously missed out should have a strong case for appealing."

ostracized by her affluent family, who were unable to cope with her changed state, and her marriage in 1955 quickly broke down due to her difficulties.

Cameron, who was born in Bridge of Allan in 1901, rose to become the first president of the World Psychiatric Association. It took two deeades and the persistence of Joseph Rauh , the distinguished American civil liberties lawyer, to uncover whal happened and secure compensation for some of Cameron's vic-

rims.

Copyright 2004 Times Newspapers Ltd.

CHIUS HEARTS@WORK Ever wondered what blood pressure'! and cholesreally mean to the health of your heart'! Wanl to know what simple day to day things you can do to keep your heart pumping for many years '!

Come out to the Ist Annual CHIUS hearts@work day, Sunday April 3 from lOam-2pm on the 3rd floor of the Carnegie Centre . Heart-friendly food and drink will be served.

This health information day is brough t to you by the cmus university students who work at the Powcll and Princess clinic each weekend . tero]]

alert!

Ne,,' Sta r Books anno unces THETYEE REPORT ON BRmSH COLUMBIA UNDER GORDON CAMPBelL'S LIBERALS

LIBERALIZED The Tyee Report on British Columbia Under Gordon Campbell's Liberals David Beers, Russ Francis, Barbara Melintoc k, Wi ll McMartin, Alisa Smith, Chris Tcnove, And Others Publication date: .\fARCH 23. 2005

Meet some of th e peopl e deciding who'll govern B.C. after the next election : Dale Calder, Legal Aid paralegal in Lillooct, who spent an extra thirteen weeks on the job after the government axed her position and shut her office, because "people [were) despera te"; Ron East, onetime eo-chair of Liberal MLA Pat Bell's Prince George election campaign, who's still fuming about Gordon Ca mpbell's after-the-election about -face on promises not to sel l BC Rail; In conversations with voters like these, on-theground reporting from ever)' corner of the province mee ts in-depth analysis of Liberal promises (and the reality). Join veteran politica l repo rters and a host of supporting contributors from the award-winning Tyee website as they look back over the last four years to reveal : . , Why Gordon Campbell never won the women's vote; , Whal those 'beyond Hope' have 10 say abool Victoria; , How Uberal promises of inaeased access 10 IIlformation have panned out; 'The government'sstrip-and-sell attitude towards resources - and who loses; , How bad the NDP~nhefited deficit really was.

A mu st-read for every voter come May 17,

News from the Library Downtown Eastside Community Play : The library has rece ived 3 sets of archival binders doc umenting the Heart ofa Ci(I' : Memories ofthe Play; Managing the Play, and Publicizing the Play.

We apprecia te the loving care Savanna Wa lling has shown in kee ping this recor d for the future. Like other arc hiva l material they arc pret ty precious and may be viewed in the library ( i.e not for loan).

Among the New 7)tles receil'Cd o{lale are : Ch lva: A village tak es on th e global heroin trade by C hellis Gl endinnin!: Chiva is both personal and politica l, revealing the relationship between colonization and drug abuse, and the importance of reelaiming sustainable cultu re as a key to recovery.

It' s the true talc of Chimayo , New Mexico terrorized bv its heroin dealers sinec the 1970's until, in the late 90's its citizens rose up to challenge the epidemic in their midst.

Part (if th e Community: Strmegies for in c/u dung everyo ne, hy Jan Nesbit This book shows how eve rybody from policymakers to advocates can cha nge their community to beller support people with disabilities.

Bad M edi cine: Trade treaties, privitization and health care reform in Canada. Published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. T he authors survey the creeping commercialisation of Canada's healt h care sys tems and propose basic changes to Ca nada's trade policy to safeguard Medicare.

66 Day s A drift by William Butler. A survival story of a couple attacked by a pod of whales who drifted in mid-ocean for 66 days .

Dj ango Reinhardt: knoll' th e man p lay th e music

by Dav e Gell y This boo k has a detailed descript ion of six of Djangos most celebrated numbers..yo u can achieve the sound yoursc lfl .

One Ri ver: Two Cultures A hi story ofth e Bella coola Valley by Paula Wild. A well researched histor)' by a native of Courtney B.C. who spend years travelling around Bella Coola to interview residents and record these stories .

A long th e Inside Passage by Meredith Bain Woodwa r d an d Run Woodward A beautiful trave l book which shows one this incre dib le coast from Seattle to Skagway, Great pictures and wonderful stories of the land and its peop le.

Holy Grail: Tire history of a legend by R ichard Barher. This work ranges across theology , history, literature and art in its q uest to und erstand the mean . ing and sy mbolism of this ico n. You won 't find a mention o f Dan Brown and The Do Vinci Code in this scholarly and co mprehe nsive book but pra ct ically every body in history from Mo nty Python 10 Geoffry Chaucer, who has been fasc ina ted by this Arthurian Legend, gels a men tio n Bolt of Fate: Benjamin Franklin and Iris f abulous Kite by To m T ucke r . This work has bee n described as a fun book beeause the author argues that Franklin did not in fac t fly his electric kite and he prese nts us with a readable history of Fran klin's world.

M3I)' Ann

Missing Sarah : A Vancou ver Won"", R emembers her Vanished Sister

by MaJ:gie de Vries. Pengu in, Ca na da, 2003 Maggie de Vries is a writ er and teacher ; she is a lso pretty and bl onde. She and her bea utifu l sis ter,

Sarah, grew up in a loving fami ly. But Sarah was a wo ma n of co lour and was harassed and tormented as she grew up in our bigoted soc iety. She was murdere d in 199 8 after a short and often bruta l life.

It is the c irc umstances of Sarah's death whic h finally shocked Canadians an d mad e her a public figure after s he vanishe d. Sa rah had become an addic t on the stree ts of Vancouver. S he lived in a com munity of sex workers who watch ed in horror as Sarah and others disappeared.

Initially the police were not interested in investigating her d isappearance路 w hy suspect foul play'! S he is only a pro stitute. Tha t was the res ponse until mor e and mo re fami lies publi cly complai ned. Fina lly the police responded and the trail of d isappearan ces led to a pig farm outsi de of Vancouver. DNA tests co nfirmed the remains o f man y women , incl uding Sarah. TIle count is over 50 now . H ow many women

would st ill be alive if the pol ice had ac ted as swiftly as if the missin g peopl e we re sports stars or businessmen'!

ONLY A BEGINING: A N A N ARCIlISl' A N THOL OG Y Book launch Starting at 7:00 pm , Sa turday April 2nd, 2005 At the Bute hers hop , wh ich is 195 cast 26 th (wes t 01T Ma in Street) -Bob Sarti will speak on the Vancou ver anarchist jo urnal Open Road (1976- 1990) -Alcxan dcr Da ughe rty will speak on Spartaeus Books -Jean Sm ith, Dave Lester of MECCA NORMAL wi ll perform -Allan AntlilT will speak o n his boo k 'On{l' a Beginning: A n A n archis t A ntlrology' to la unch it's recent publication.

The door is by donation; fNery Only a Beginning book that gets sold sends money to the Spartaeus Books fund' So buy those books'

de Vries tell s a storv o f broken dream s, love, perseverance, pain and violence , Maggi e kept in touch with Sara h, helped care for her daught er and never gave up on Sarah. Ma gg ie needed 10 tell this story about her bright , lo vin g and tal ent ed sister.

In Vanco uver there is a mem ori al to the Montreal wo men w ho were murdered in 198 9. T he re is a br ick that reads: "In memory of the women o f Va nco uve r's Eastsi de . We dream of another wo rl d when the w ar on w omen is over."

We need to create a social an d publ ic mem orial to these women. We also need to crea te a soc iety eo neerned that wo men are still en di ng up without ho pe in the dar k ca nyons of our unspok en cruelty an d preju dice. We mus t co nfront our own aliitudes and work for justice an d safety for o ur margi nal ized si;> ters . It is our responsi bility to end the war o n \.. "omen,

By T heresa Wo lfwood

Find Out More About Jenny Kwan, Our MLA This article was written via research done on the Internet, and by an e-mail corres pondence with Jenny Kwan, our NDP MLA for the Downtown Eastside who is standing for re-election in the May 17 provincial election. l thought I would write someth ing about her to familiari ze people with her history and accomplishm ents.

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan was born in China and immigrated to Canada with her family when she was nine years old. She went to school in Vancou ver, and graduated from Simon Fraser University.

She began working as a community legal advocate in the Downtown Eastside. :In 1993, she was elected to Vanco uver City Council, as a member of the Coalitio n of Progressive Electors, and served for three years- the youngest councilor in Vancou ver history. In 1996, she stood for election and won to he NDP MLA for Vancouvcr-Mount Pleasant (which includes the Downtown Eastside).

In February 1998, Jenny was appointed Ministe r of Municipal Affairs , becoming Be's first ChineseCanadian cabinet minister. Over the next three yea rs, ~he woulda lso serve as Minister of Women 's Equalrty, and Minister of Comm unity Development, Cooperatives and Volunteers.

When the provincial Liberals assumed power in 20D l , Jenny, along with Joy MacPh ail, were the lone two NDP opposition members. (Now, with Jagru p Brar, there are three NDP opposition membe rs.) . I wr ote to Jenny asking for her help by requesting informa tion about her time in politics . She respond ed to me promptly (as she has on other occas ions) allowing me to write this article in time for the April I Issue of t he Carneg ie Newsle tter.

I asked her what she considered her three most important accomplishments while in office. Jenny went further than that, and answer ed the question referring to her time in the ruling NDP governmen t, and 10 her time in opposition.

While in power, she eonsidc rs the three most important events to be: I) the record ofthc NDP govern ment in providing affordable housing . (She notes that the currenl provincial Liberal government

has cut back the number of units allocaled for that purpose).

2) that she helped to develop the Vancou ver Agree ment. This agree ment allowed for unprecedented cooperation between the three main levels of government: federal , provincial, and municipal. The establis hment o f the agreem ent was the basis for develop ing the drug harm reduction program , and other services in the Downtown Eastside.

3) that while Minister of Women ' s Community Development , Cooperatives and Volunteers she worked with community gro ups prov- ' incc-wide to build greater capacit y.

While in opposition, the three accomp lishments she conside rs most important were: I) fighting against the provincial Liberals' intentto have people on disabilit y undergo a review of their eligibil ity. In her words, " We raised the issues. We ex posed the Go vernment. We were success ful in gellin g the Auditor Genera l to review the Govern ment's actions ." She also notes that the opposit ion also put pressure on the government to make significant exceptions to the two-ye ar limit on recei ving income assis tance .

2) supportin g parents iu fightin g against the cuts to Comm unity Link fundin g. Among other things, the hot meals program and family support program were saved .

3) creating a change to daycare policy. This started as an individual case that Jenny raised in Question Period, and for which the Liberal Minister in charge agreed 10 review , and eve ntually amended, resulting in policy changes for other familie s.

(I' d like to note here that Jenny wr ote that it was difficult to limit her choices of accompl ishment to ju st three; this was the same problem I encoun tered when I wrote about Libby Davies .)

All in all, I' d say Jenny Kwan has had quite a successful career in politics so far, and I wish her more of the same.

In e1osing, I j ust want to say thai I intend to vote for Jenny Kwan (again) in the May 17 provincial election . I urge those of yo u in her riding to do the same, and that ' s no joke.

By Rolf Auer

DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE YOUTH ACTIVITIES SOCIETY 49 W.Coniova 604-25I-JJ 10

FIXE D EXC HANGE SITE: 5 E.Hastings NEEDLE EXCHANGE VAN - 3 Routes: 604-685-6561 City - 5:45pm - 1l :45pm _ Overnight - .2:30am - 8:30am Downtowg Eastside - 5:30pm - I :30am

mBiied'i o0 NE W S L E T T E R !

.., !olaill 51. V• • c..ut' \ '."

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2005 DONATIO NS Libby D.-S4ll Barry for Dave /\IcC.-S5ll Rolf A.-545 /\Ia rg are l D.-S25 Ch ristopher R -S50 /\Ia ry C-S30 Bruce J.-S3ll U' mi5la - S20 Heather S .-S25 lUyCam-S30 Gram -S lOll Paddy -S3ll Glen B.-S5ll Jobn S.-SHll Penny G.-52 I J enny K-S2ll Dara C. -S2ll Sa ndy C.S2ll Aud rey-S2ll We' K-S5ll J oanne 1l.-S2lJ Rockin~~u y , -S2lJ The E d~ Comm unily Liaison Ctt -szoo Wm B-S20 Anonymous-fI

604-US-U"

Tll r. M :WSl.I:1TI:R IS A PlIBI.ICATION O F r ur CARNr.G II: CO MMIINIT Y CENTRr. ASSOCIATlOI> .

Articlt! represent the "inn or indh'id ua l ccnt rt butc rs a nd nol or Ibt Associ.tion.

Ednor: PaulR Taylor; cover art & layout, Diane Wood

Su bmission Oeadline for next issue: Tuesday, April l2

- ------------ ..

Room for more names or anonym ous g ifts.

We acMowledge IhalCOO1egie CommiJniy Cenlre, ald IIlis

I News/e"er, 3i'e happening on the Squamish Natioo's territory. I

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DO YOU IIA VE A LEGAL PtW DL EM?

Contact

Jenny WaiChing Kwan MLA

Come to our FREE CLINIC On carnegie's 3rd floor ,

vue Law Students'

Legal Advice Program

You must make an appo intment.

' --

-

Tu esdays 7pm - 9p m.

-

Tbe Downtown Eastside Residents AS!ocialion DERA bel", wilb :

Working for You 1070-164 1 Commc:n:ial Dr. VSL 3Y3 Phone: 775-0790 Fax: 77S-0881

-

I'bone'" Sore M.Uboses Welr..e probleou; Landlord disputes; HOUJlng probleou Vnure IIvlag condltloDJ

At 11 Eau Hutlngs SL or .. u 6OUlii-09Jl

Women stay inside! The city and the police have no intention of helping you. It is too expensive 10 do so . Just put up with having your purse stolen and/or being beaten to death. $hitty Hall wants to spend money on 20 I0 rather than the need of the people now . They 're spending needless time forcing places like the Lee Building to remove the billboard sign on the roof. According to the owner's spokesman Larry Zolmer, the cost could run $10,000. If they want to get rid of an eye sore all they need to do is 86 that ugly clock on $hitty Hall's north wall .

I think the mayor has snifTed in too much formaldchyde . He must be on something to allow the exploitation of Vancouver's hard-core drug addicts for experimentation. It is all too much for me . Anyway I'm going back to binning just to keep myself sane from watching all the garbage on the news . earlm04@hotmail.eom

baby squalling red in the face , eyes squeezed shut "no baby ever died of crying!"

strong woman. mouth screwed shut "he's fine. settles on his own" pressure rises, anger mounts permission from that book "keep strong, he'll break soon _- peace"

teenager closed, all on his own lost, the world sucks, man "but he came from such a good home --" money means nothin, girnmc a snort velvet hell, empty son sometimes feels good, mostly not need the stuff hale my life baby cut off from God and heaven

alone. but mom's voice "the doctor said it would be okay pretend she's nol there" turn up the radio, drown it out disconnect from the heart not with her , but I'm in charge somebody else's job to care

Becoming I am becoming, my own woman: no one owns me; No one deeides .hc colour of my ha ir, Or the perfume that I wear.

I am becoming my own woman .

While sometimes I miss the temporary_comfort that dependence brings, I no longer bear a rage that in my hear sings Unprintable names; outrageous desires.

Anger that cleansed the spirit, but brought shame For letting go -- letting it get to me Letting your approval turn me into the Worm You already suspected I was .

That ancient story about the man , the woman, and the snake: Maybe the matter lay with the apple and the worm. Your guess is as good as mine, Pilgrim.

Wilhclmina

once together, 10m apart

distant roommates sharing space money talks , opportunity knocks reality bites, child Face it. have a lake, drink up trying to f il l the void separated from God at a tender age angry mom says it's okay

I count too!

Mother Day oh good time without the kids pretend I didn't hurt them not my fault

It's fine .

Sheila Turnbull

Vancouver Status of Women Launches the Revised and Updated

Welfare Resource Guide for Women

"Moving Women Onto The Political Agenda" You arc invited to participate in an open house of organizations and groups committed to improving the lives of women

Sunday, April 3, 1:00 - 4:00 pm Heritage Hall 3102 Main Street Vancouver Free Admission! All Welcome ' PUR PO SE: â&#x20AC;˘ Share information about your services or work with other women's organizations AND with the public! â&#x20AC;˘ Raise awareness about women's issues for the upcoming BC provincial election!

To book a table foryour organiza~on or group, cal/604-7360995 (Cheryl) or womenontheagenda@hotmlil,com COST: NONE! This event is sponsored by the 52% Coalition - a diverse group of women's organizations, independent "omen and social justice groups in BC - committed to raising awareness on women's issues during the provincial election.

(2nd Edition)

This guide provides updated general information to womcn about British Col umbia's welfare system or Employment and Assistance Regulatio ns within a feminist framework. This Guide is meant to help women apply for welfare, disability, and chi ld benefits, and offe rs guidance in application or appeal processes. It especially focuses on the needs of single mothers.

The Guide was produced by VSW's Feminist Work ing Group of the Women and Welfare Project. This Project focuses on an in-depth femin ist analysis of the BC welfare system within the current co lonial, poor-bashing, and globalization context. The burden that current devastating welfare policy changes adds to poor women means that women must deal with multiple government systems around issues of: custody and access, child apprehension, housi ng, employ ment , childcare, education, immigration, legal aid, violence, health, family maintenance, and muc h more. The Project's goals are: I. To examine the impact of we Ifarc changes on women in BC; 2. Raise awareness, educate, and mobil ize the genera l public; and 3. Lobby the provi ncial government to res tore funding and improve programs.

This Guide derives fro m BC advocates' survey fced back to create "a welfare resource guide that is accessible", "an organizationa l chart of the Ministry of Human Reso urces", "provincial reso urces and advocacy for women", and "a too l about women's rights to welfare and how the system works".

For low-income women there is no charge for this Guide - call VSW to arrange a time for pick up or if yo u would like a guide mailed to you , please send us a self-addressed stamped ($1. 70) envelope ( 9'x 12') to the address below.

For community organizations, the Guide is avai lable for $5-$14 per guide based on a sliding scale plus shipping. For institutions and Ministries the Guide is available for $15 per gui de plus shipping. It's also available on our website: W\\'w. vsw .ca To order contact Julie Ham via email : womencentrcla!vsw .ca or phone : 604-255-6554.

2D..A..YS IN..A..R.O~

COlVIE ANI>

ENJOY THE COlVIPANVOF

OTHER FOOLS BESIDES YOURSELF!

7':OOP1YI IS

NEXT DO"llVNTO"llVN E A S T S I D E

F R E E ~lVIISSION

INT~E

CARNEGIE TFIEATRE