November 1, 2012, carnegie newsletter

. carneg1e c FREE. Do not pay for this paper.

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NEWSLETTER

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NOVEMBER 1, 2012 carnnews<@vcn.bc.ca carnnews@sbaw.ca www.carnnews.ore http://chodarr.org/taxonomy/term/3

WE WILL HAVE JUSTICE.

SOCIAL& ECONOMIC

HEART 0 F THE CITY FESTIVAL 2012 OPENING CEREMONY My heart in the heart of the city Eghishe Charents, a poet who fought against the Armenian genocide and died in prison; he wrote: "I saw how our will could endure, rebel, and put wings into flight; start fum aces in the breast."

My heart in the heart of the city now each beat of my battered and wounded heart brings me closer to the community that fills my heart with joy and activism and friends a community I've given my heart to sustain and protect because you have strengthened my heart with yours but also, now my heart begins to feel loss like the places I knew so well lost to alien condos shops galleries cafes and people I have little in common with and so now my heart also beats with anger bleeds with fear screams with rage my heart would hurl firebombs gather shopping carts into heavy barricades and empty condominiums for our most vulnerable low income citizens and free our communitylike the sparrow that flew into my small suite one night through the open sliding glass door though I searched among piles of boxes and notebooks I couldn't find the bird before I went to bed and was awakened in the morning by a desperate courageous loud cry

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a cry for freedom a cry for help a cry of desire a cry of rebellion a cry of great risk a cry against what blocks communit) a cry for compassion a cry past poverty a cry full of beauty a cry of anguish a cry for naturea cry for its flock flying outsidefor the sparrow trapped itself behind a window of blinds â&#x20AC;˘ bring me knowing its cry could the giant of doom towards it but I slid open the glass door cupped the sparrow from behind the blinds as gently as I could in my hands felt soft smooth silken feathers and the bird's little heart pounding faster &faster for life and in one swift motion released the sparrow where it immediately winged freely into the sky as sometimes in life what seems to be final is a new beginning unexpected propelled by a heart pumping the blood of an indomitable community like the downtown eastsidethe heart of the city Bud Osborn

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Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS Thursday November 1 to Sunday November 4, 2012

WORKSHOPS - Free Thurs Nov 1 • Making Art Through Dialogue, EWMA Studio (women only), 54 E. Cordova, lOam • DTES Social Media, UBC Learning Exchange, 612 Main, 1:30pm THURSDAY November 1 • Aboriginal Cultural Showcase, Demos and Harmony of Nations Drum Group. Oppenheimer Park, 1:30pm-4pm. Free • Building: a Social Writing Evening, with Thursdays Writing Collective. Dunlevy Snackbar, 455 Dunlevy, 7pm-9pm. Free FRIDAY November 2 • Lifeskills Slam Poetry & Music Therapy, Led by Devon Martin aka Dr. Metro. Participate or sit back and enjoy. Ufeskills Centre, 412 E. Cordova, lpm-3pm. Free • Out of the Basement & VGA Project Preview, Opening reception - art from the Carnegie Art Room and a preview of Vancouver Moving Theatre's booklet about community theatre in the DTES. Carnegie 3rd floor Gallery, Spm-8pm. Free • LANTERN PROCESSION OF LIGHT: Nurturing the Spirit, Meet at front steps of Carnegie Community Centre, 401 Main, 6pm-7:30pm. Free • Mortal Coils: Video Exhibition, The Nines, 99 W. Pender, 6pm-10pm. Free • Sharing Our Stories, with Beverly Dobrinsky, Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender, 7pm-9pm. Free • DTES Front and Centre: Ballads, Blues & Rock 'n Roll with Patrick Foley, Mike Richter, Dalannah Gail Bowen, Corinthian Clark, Sean Dillon, Darren Morgan, Shawn Giroux, Stan Hudac, Heidi Morgan, Carnegie Theatre, 7:30pm-9:30pm. Free • Allergic to Labels: Artisan Retrospective with Karenza t. Wall, Debbie Blair, Harsha Collins, Helen Spaxman, W2 Media Cafe, 111 W. Hastings, 9pm-10pm. Free

SATURDAY November 3 • Drum Circle & Percussion Jam, led by Russell Shumsky, Ray-Cam Community Centre Gym, 920 E. Hastings, llam-1pm. Free • Artists of the DTES: Talk and Forum, part of the Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show, Gallery Gachet, 88 E. Cordova, 2pm-4pm. Free • An Afternoon of Downtown Eastside Digital Stories and other Films, Vancouver's 125 Stories, Bob Currie, Adrienne Macallum, Brenda Prince, Vancouver Moving Theatre, Carnegie Theatre, 401 Main, 3:30pm-5:30pm. Free • SPOTA Mosaic Unveiling, Places That Matter Plaque Presentation & Reception, Walter and Mary Lee Chan House, 658 Keefer, reception at Strathcona Community Centre, 601 Keefer, 3:30pm-Spm. Free • DTES Poets Open Mic, with host Diane Wood, poems-in-progress and specia l guest Evelyn Lau, Vancouver's Poet Laureate, Carnegie Theatre, 7pm. Free • Big Jazz at the Heart of the City Festival, with Dal Richards Combo, and Carnegie Jazz Band, led py Brad Muirhead, with special guest vocalist Dalannah Gail Bowen and award-winning trombonist Hugh Fraser, Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender, 8pm-10:30pm. Sliding scale $2-$20 SUNDAY November 4 In the Streets-

• Hastings Street Band, starts at Carnegie, 12pm & 1pm • Art Cart with Jim Dewar, sketch artist, DNC Street Market, 12pm- 5pm • Mearingstone, bagpipes & gamelan, Victory Square, Hastings & Cambie, 1pm

• Vancouver Japanese language School & Japanese Hall Food Bazaar {1pm Axe Capoeira), Japanese Hall, 487 Alexander, 12pm-3pm. By donation to the Bazaar • Urban Barn Dance, with Russell Shumsky, Bud Kurz, Kathleen Nisbet and dance caller Marlin Prowell, Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender, 7:30pm-9pm. Pay what you can. (Sorry, wheel chair access unavailable.)

For further details pick up the Festival Program Guide at the Carnegie Front Desk, around the neighbourhood or visit or www.heartofthecityfestival.com. For information please call 604-628-5672.

Presented by Vancouver Moving Theatre with the Carnegie Community Centre

& the Association of United Ukrainian Canadians, working with ove r 40 community partners.

Law Students Legal Advice Program UBC law students wi ll be holding drop-in clinics on Tuesdays from 7- 9pm in Carnegie's Art Gallery.

It's confidential and advice is checked with a lawyer.

To All Our Volunteers who are most appreciated; just a short reminder of your Personal Rights as a human being. Some may seem simple, but can be a huge challenge and risk also. Just so you know, I am behind you.

Colleen Personal Rights I. The right to initiate I alter I terminate relationships.

t!ol/een $ t!oJi'JWI" ("working as fast as".."have to do 3 things ar .."l promise!")

2. The right to be treated with respect.

3. The right to act in ways that promote your dignity and self-respect Volunteer Committee Meeting as long as others' rights are not violated in the process . ...----r~ Wednesday, November 7 at 4pm 4. The right to feel good about yourself Volunteer Dinner in the Theatre Wednesday, November 14 at 4:30

5. The right to change your mind.

6. The right to say "no" and not feel guilty.

7. The right to experience and express your feelings.

8. The right to ask for what you want.

:.;) (

Camp Homewood, Quadra Island, Monday, November 5- Friday, November 9

9. The right to make mistakes and to be responsib le for them.

I 0. The right to do less than you are humanly capable of doing.

11 . The right to ask for information.

12. The right to do what you want with your body.

13. The right to do what you want with your time.

14. The right to get what you pay for.

15. The right to do what you want with your possessions.

16. The right not to assert you rights.

17. The right to have your limits respected.

Volunteers or.the Month: Les MacDonald, All Around Kitchen he lper Karen Ree, Computer Lab Monitor for over a decade

18. The right not to offer reasons or excuses for your behavior.

Progress?

Easy as shooting a wolf from a helicopter .

Where's there muck there's brass, lad. True enough, muck meant manure and brass was the yellow gold exchanged for fertile land.

But now the muck is toxic and the money not even paper but a fragile "memory" in some microcircuit.

Impoverishment, like annihilation, now equally instantly possible at the push of the wrong button.

Progress?

Why that means going forward, of course. But ... what if we are standing on the edge of the abyss?

David Bouvier

Supreme Court of Canada will hear chal lenge to Canada's prostitution laws On October 25, the Supreme Court of Canada announced that it w ill hear the federal governme nt's appeal in the case of Attorney General of Canada, et al. v Terri Jean Bedford, et al. The Court also agreed to hear the cross-appeal filed by Terri Jean Bedford, Amy Lebovitch and Valerie Scott, the applicants in the case.

Bedford, Lebovitch and Scott initiated this case in 2007, asking the court to strike down s .210 (keeping common bawdy houses), s.2 12( I)(j) (living on the avails of prostitution) and s.213( 1)Š (communicating for the purpose of prostitution) because those provisions violate sex workers' constitutional right to liberty, safety and freedom of expression. ln September 20 I 0, Justice Hime l of the Ontario Superior Court did just that, striking down all three provisions as violating the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The decision was appealed by the federal govern ment, and Pivot Legal Society, Sex Workers United Against Violence Society (S WUA V) and PACE Society intervened when the case was before the Ontario Court of Appeal. In March of this year, the Court of Appeal rendered its decision, agreeing that the bawdy house and living on the avai ls provisions are unconstitutional, but reversed Justice Himel's decision on the communi cation law.

Following the Court of Appeal 's decision, the federal government filed an application for leave to the sec, stating that the Court of Appeal erred in ruling that the bawdy house provision and living on the avails provision are unconstitutional. Bedford et al. filed a cross-appeal, req uesting that the SCCreview the Court of Appeal's ruling on the communication law, as well as the Court's decision to remedy the unconstitutionality of the living on the avails provision by limiting its application to "circumstances of exploitation."

"The Supreme Court of Canada only g rants leave in cases involving issues of public importance, which this case certainly is," said Katrina Pacey, Pivot lawyer and counsel for the Vancouver sex worker rights organizations that intervened in the Bedford case at the Court of Appeal. ''I am thrilled this important human rights issue has finally made its way to Canada's top court and they will have a chance to hear how

Canada's prostitution laws place sex workers in unbelievably dangerous circumstances and deprive them of meaningful opportunities to ensure their safety."

The Supreme Court w ill likely not hear the case until the fal l of2013. Sex workers' rights groups, including the Pivot, SWUA V and PACE coalition, will likely once again seek leave to intervene in the case.

For further comm ntary, please check out Pivot's blog: ehttp://www.pivotlegal.org/blog For comment: Katri na Pacey, litigation director, 604 729 7849

Please join us at the Gallery Gachet, 88 East Cordova St on Saturday Nov 3rd, 2-4pm for a Gallery Gachet & The Oppenheimer Park Community Art Show artist talk & community forum.

We encourage all local artists. and all artists featured in this year's show, to come join in on the round circle conversation a nd presentation.

Karen Ward, our fearless leader in the fight for inclusion, is a local artist representing the Gallery Gachet in the LoweP Area Planning Process (LLAP) and one of the featured artists in the show.

Karen will be there to help facilitate our conversation and speak on her experience as an artist in the Downtown Eastside community.

Look forward to hearing from you! If you have any questions, please contact Ali (604) 813-0029 Refreshments served.

A Flash Running streams flow with rain splashes Sodden leaves sticking fast to the mud As if a kind of red carpet lying for the Fairy queen to waltz to her king Alas, her feet so dainty in the talent of dancing Such is Nature's play joke that is most entertaining Assumpta Kwan (aka Gracie)

Carnegie Classics presents the music of Franz Krammer, Darius Milhaud, and Marcus Goddard

Performed by Trio Accord (violinist Mary Sokol Brown, violist Andrew Brown, cellist Rebecca Wenham) clarinetist Johanna Hauser.

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Friday, November 9th at 1:OOpm Carnegie Theatre My experience with the Creative Dance Workshop

1 have been participating in the creative dance workshop-with Karen Jamieson at Carnegie since April 2012. This is the first time I have ever done creative dancing. On the fi rst day, I asked Karen whether there would be music in the lessons. She said no. l asked myself, 'How am I goi ng to dance without music?' I thought I would give it a try.

After a few lessons and to my utmost surprise, I realized that this is the kind of dancing 1 had wanted to do for a long time. I would like to share with you my experience.

Karen taught us how to warm up for dancing. She explained the im portance of having our feet grounded to the floor, passing our energy to the ground and, in return, receiving energy from the earth. She drew our attention to our sitting bone and our neck bone and how they are connected to different parts of our body.

In other words, our entire body is connected.

We we re taught to move our body to dance li ke a fish, a butterfly, a wolf, and an eagle. Again, she explained that each part of our body supports the other parts to perform these body movements. To me, danc ing li ke an animal is interesting and beautiful.

We were also taught to dance in duet. Movement of our body comes from within. "Value stillness," Karen emphasized. It is from stillness that we come up with

ideas of how to move our body. Dancing with our / partner in the form of Hi/Lo. Quick/slow, Far/Close was emphasized. I could not believe that I could dance creatively; I do come up with ideas when I value stillness.

Dancing our emotions is another aspect I like in the creative dance workshop. We all go through life with some form of grief and anger. Dancing creatively might be one of the too ls to let go of our negative emotions and to embrace the positive ones. We learned to dance our emotion of sorrow by letting our head drop down and supporting each other by our shoulders. We danced our anger by walking heavily.

We danced our joy by jumping up and down and making eye contact with each other.

We had a successful performance on October 28, 2012 dancing from Carnegie to SFU Woodwards along Hastings Street. We sang a Chinese song on Kungfu at Pigeon Park. Our various dances were performed at SFU Woodwards World Arts Centre.

Drumming and singing with guitar were a big part of most of our dance performances. Healing rituals were performed, and a drummer, Rick Lavallie; who passed away, was honoured.

I have learned a lot in the creative dance workshop at Carnegie. l h~pe that this workshop will continue.

In my opinion, it would be nice to implement creative dance workshops in school so the next generation can understand that dancing does not necessarily have to be structured. We can dance creatively if we value stillness.

By Debbie Woon Lee

Pacific Bluegrass & Heritage Society concert Wednesday, November 14th 7-9PM In the Theatre

1st

Plane Ride - Franklin Two Hearts

Drugstore Drama

Coming here now sidewalk's wet on my moccasins two Caucasian young men asked me for a cigarette maybe it was the shoes or my growing back in fauxhawk made them assume my heritage and that mine was a cornucopia of all things earthly first and foremost that my pockets were stuffed with tobacco, sweet grass, all manner of smokeables Alas. They stalked off disappointed with a polite No Reminds me of the first plane ride I took with Ma We got on our virgin flight in YVR, after an endless wait We struggled aboard - lucky me got a window seat it was a night flight, I hazily remember take-off Stewardess came around with drinks but Ma declined being a kid I wanted the pop & coffee all the others were consuming with gusto, so I begged some more Finally Ma turned to me and quietly said We got no money to buy nothin' so stop askin' hear!

The weather kept us on the tarmac in Calgary Same as Regina; by the time we got back home Ma was so hungry she was chewing on her napkin Only years later I learned the meal came free we were just dumb country people, just didn't know mvd~ "i<,.

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Just another typical Sunday morning grey tones on greystones in the ol' hood eagle perched high atop the 4 square spire ambulance sounds next to the fire truck buddy felt he oughta give a fuck so after Buddy One does a full-face face-plant calls the wagons ' looks like a accident" Buddy Two just to be sure calls the wagon at least his intentions were pure by the time he's all strapped in and down he wakes up to what is going on ssuddcnly he don't want the ride wants to go home and just hide after the show is wrapped up, cool, gone life goes on, woman screaming at another customer, paranoid, scheming something somebody said is upsettin' her one woman riot that's her for sure I gulp my coffee and bolt out the door was n' t over but I didn't want no more -' typical antics at the old drugstore

~. lotsa s ick people with no cure

':ake a salad of pills and hit the floo r . ~on't worry it's endless i\~ no end tyo the sorrow they open at 6 tomorrow :. and brother don't look so shocked another pharmacy on the very next block

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::Y~ I wasted away for about four years. Spilt a lot of blood and tears. I've done so many horrible things in my life, I wish I could take them all back. I' ve hurt myself, but what's almost unbearable is that I've hurt others. I've lost loved ones' trust, especially my mothers. I want them to know that I'm sincerely sorry for all that I've done. T he lying, manipulating and stealing. Deep down I didn ' t want to, it wasn ' t all fun ' n games. Karma is catching up to me. I did a lot of things that anyone who knew the old me could've never imagined to see. The scars on my body and the pain in my heart and mind are always going to be there: a constant reminder of my addiction. Listen to my mistakes, this is n't fuckin ' fi ction. Don 't start this shit! If you have, g ive it up 'cause it'll eat yo u alive.

You' re not the only o ne struggling, you can s urvi ve.

I'm tired of the self-hate, the g uilt and sorrow. I want to get through my issues without hurting myself or

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Pat Smith

others or doing something I'll regret. Using won't make everything better, that is guaranteed, not a bet. I still have cravings every day, but I'm here to stay and 1 won't let it get in my way. I gotta think 路'Just for Today." It's time to change my ways, no more fuckin' nonsense. It's not going to be easy, but if I put as much time and effort as I put into using into being a better man and a stronger person, I know I can eventually make things right. My addiction will no longer get the better of me 'cause I'm gonna put up one hell of a fight.

Nuko Spencer Nadin

Ten Key Points about Economic Democracy

Economic Democracy Empowering People & Communities "You can't have meaningful political democracy without functioning economic democracy. I think this is, at some level, understood by working people. It has to be brought to awareness and consciousness, but it's just below the surface."

- Noam Chomsky

Conference Vision The viral growth of the Occupy Movement, and the public support of it, is testament to the tremendous dissatisfaction with the inequities and abuses of global capitalism. Meta-corporations and large financial institutions have corrupted democracy in the United States and many other countries. In response, there is a wide spectrum of progressive forces struggling to rescue our political democracy; however, reform is not enough.

The New Economic Vision The Economic Democracy Conference is not a standalone event, but is embedded in a long-term effort to project economic democracy as the common demand of a mass movement to replace corporate plutocracy.

Economic democracy provides the new economic vision and practice required by populist elements who now understand that an alternative economic para digm is required.

The Meaning of Economic Democracy The purpose of political democracy is to provide for political. empowerment to all citizens; the purpose of economic democracy is to provide economic empowerment to all citizens and all local communities, and to prevent the concentration of economic power that subverts maSs political and economic empowerment.

A Just Political Democracy ...

A just political democracy is not possible without economic democracy. Mega-corporations, large financial institutions and corporate-owned media have corrupted democracy in the United States and many ~t~er countries. Because big money controls the political process so tightly, reform is not enough. Instead, we need " economic democracy" that economically empowers people and communities. This has the potential to unite people around a common cause that replaces the tyranny of corporate power.

Guaranteeing the Minimum Requirements The right to life - guaranteeing the minimum requirements (food, clothing, housing, education and medical care) to everyone - is fundamental. Human beings require these in order to realize their individual potentialities, to develop culturally, to achieve inner fulfillment. Without these, the "pursuit of happiness" remains beyond the reach of the poor. To free all from the desperation of poverty should be the primary function and duty of any economy.

The Right to Meaningful Employment The right to meaningful employment with a " li vi ng wage'' is also a fundamental human right. People s hould pay for the minimum requirements they need with the income they earn from honest work. A just minimum wage must be set high enough so that people can purchase the necessities. It is the responsibility of all levels of government to pursue policies that achieve and maintain full employment, utilizing each worker's skills and capabilities.

Growing Local Economies We must prevent the outside control of local economies and the drainage of capital. Corporate big box stores and restaurant chains send profits that are earned in the community to outside shareholders.

Corporate banks use local deposits to speculate in the global stock market casino. Outside landlords take rent money away, too. To grow local incomes, raw materials, agricultural produce and other assets of each region should be processed and refined close to their origin. In this way, improvements in technology and manufacturing benefit the local inhabitants of every region.

A Basic Right ofWorkers It is a basic right of workers to own and manage their enterprises, making the economic decisions which directly affect their lives. Whether as small-scale private enterprises or cooperatives or even public-managed utilities, local people and communities need to determine their future. Local economies with sustainable agriculture that grows healthy food, renewabl e 路'green" industries, credit unions that offer loans to local people are all elements of a vibrant community.

Cooperatives Cooperatives are the businesses of the future, based on the principle of one member, one vote. Since decision-making is decentralized, citizens become empowered to choose how their local economy should be run. Producer a nd consumer cooperatives should run most industry, trade, agriculture and banking. Successful cooperati ves grow from the energy and commitment of local people. The foundation of the cooperative system li es in "coordinated cooperation," in which free huma n beings with equal rights and mutual respect work together to fulfill a common need for their mutual benefit. '

Measuring the Standard of Living Purchasing capacity, the ability of people to pay for basic goods and services, is the most direct and accurate way to measure their standard of living and the true state of the economy. People need to feel that their lives are improving, which they feel as purchas路 ing power increases. Purchasing power is the precursor to quality of li fe improvement, and its prime indi cator. Prevailing consumerism manipulates people through advertising, creating artificial needs, to buy on credit and to ignore the environmental impact of their purchases.

Overcoming Discrimination Economic democracy is essential to overcome discrimination and margi nalization. Poverty and unemployment feeds racism, sexism, and anger toward immigrants. Women, people of color, the young and the old tend to suffer lower wages and more joblessness in the economic downturn. Economic independ ence is c rucial so that everyone may reach their full potentials as human beings ...

An Equitable, Sustainable Economy Meeting people's genuine needs and quality of life, not profit, should be the purpose of the economy.

Economic, Democracy offers a clear, compelling vision of an equitable, sustainable economy that bring! a high quality of li fe for everyone- a dynamic economy of the people, by the people and fo r the people.

By rejecting profit-making as the goal of the economy, it redesigns the economy so that it meets the actual needs of the people.

The sub-heading began and one-sentence bits were part of the impetus for the hundreds of participants: Empowering People and Communities Uniting people around a common cause that replace~ the tyranny of corporate power.

Faciliating the Dialogue Creating a solidarity network to project our common vision of the equitable economy we seek.

Affirming a Universal Ecological & Spiritual Perspective: Connecting Us with one another and with the rest of creation.

In Vision and Action Envisioning the democratic and equitable economic system needed to replace capitC~.Iism; planning the necessary steps to materialize it

Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP)

Newsletter Read CCAP reports: http://cca vancouver.wordpress.com

November 1, 2012

City Council throws SRO tenants & sex workers under the bus of condo development again City Council ignored the voices of many Downtown Eastside residents and approved a rezoning for a condo megaproject across the street from Raycam in the Downtown Eastside. The vote came on Oct, 30111 â&#x20AC;˘ The project will have 282 condos, 24 units of welfare rate social housing, and 46 units of social housing with higher rents.

Many Downtown Eastside residents spoke against the project on two ni~hts of public hearing, October 16111 and 18 . Herb Varley and Michael Clague, co-chairs of the DTES Local Area Planning committee asked council to defer the project until after the Plan is finished. They said the Hastings Corridor needs to be preserved for social housing, that there are no regulations in place to protect hotels close to the new development from ;ent increases, and that this project will set a precedent for the type of development in that area.

Ivan Drury of the Carnegie Community Action Project said that SRO residents in nearby hotels hadn ' t been notified of the project by the city. He said their housing was in jeopardy from the condo mega project because it would push up land prices and hotel rents. 24 new social housing units at welfare rate wouldn' t make up for the lost of 154 SRO units.

"Woodwards increased land speculation," said Drury. "It could be worse with 955 E. Hastings. Property combinations are going offthe map."

Harold Lavender told Council that there had been no calculation ofthe losses the project would create. He said there was no way to control the increase in land values, that the low income people in the project would be segregated from the condo owners, a model that "insults the dignity of low income people."

Victoria Bull gave Councillors a petition opposing the project with 109 signatures she had collected in the neighbourhood.

"We need stores and services low income people can use," she said.

affordable grocery story, a guarantee of housing for local families, and a new Raycam Centre. Fern Jeffries said the low and higher income residents should be in the same building.

"Gentrification is accelerating faster than anyone could have imagined," sa id Tami Starlight. "The 24 units are a pittance."

A member of the 40 member woodworker's co-op that is in the building that's on the site now opposed the project, saying it would increase their rents and also rents in the neighbourhood.

Tracey Morrison was on a safety patrol and talked to the sex workers who work under the bridge next to where the new development would be. "This is the only place they think is safe," said Morrison. "If this project goes in people won't want them there."

"That site for me is like my home," Louise Boilevin an artist, student and sex worker, said. "J don't want to go right out in public and it's not too isolated and I've known the girls there for years."

Even people who supported the project wanted changes. Judy McGuire wanted an

In the end Council added 8 toothless points to the staff recommendations approving the project. The points mostly related to what residents had told them at the public hearing. One called on the applicant and staff to work to maximize the welfare rate component of social housing. Another calJed on the developer to provide interaction between people in the social housing units and condos. Green Party Councillor Adrjane Carr voted against the rezoning, saying she was "particularly concerned about gentrification and the cost of housing, land values and increasing rent."

She was joined by the 2 NPA council members.

Vision Vancouver members all voted for the rezoning, some claiming with great emotion that they were "voting for housing."

-JS

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Meet the new DTES Neighbourhood Council co-chair of the Local Area Planning Process The Downtown Easts.ide Neighbourhood Council's (DNC) last co-chair of the DTES Local Area Planning Process committee was Wendy Pedersen. Wendy went off on sick leave in September and Ivan Drury was unilaterally thrown off the LAPP Committee by the city manager soon after.

Herb Varley, who had been volunteering as Wendy's alternate since the process began, was unanimously supported by the DNC to lead the committee on behalf of the lowincome community.

Herb is a young Nisga'a and Nuu-chahnulth man who lives in the York Rooms hotel and is the co-president of the DNC and on the board of the Urban Native Youth Association. Both his parents live in the DTES and he grew up all over East Vancouver.

Herb is already known at city council for standing up and announcing himself powefully with his Nisga' a name, Gwin ga' adihl arnaa goot. At the aevelopment permit board hearing for condos at Pantages Herb distinguished himself by standing and facing down the panel of developers and planners in complete silence for his full given five minute speech time. Some people said his silence was the most powerful presentation of many

strong speeches that day.

The co-chair position for the DTES LAPP Committee is a challenging and thankless job that includes meeting at times almost daily with city staff and the other co-chairs, Building Community society to set up meetings and coordinate work. As co-chair Herb also meets with low-income people and groups who are on the committee and in the community to help them understand what's going on in the work of the committee and bring their concerns about the future of the DTES forward through the planning process.

As part of involving the community in the work of the DTES LAPP Herb and some other members of the LAPP will be organizing monthly townhalls about the Planning Process from a low-income community perspective. The first one will be Thursday November 8th, 3pm in the Carnegie theatre. - ID

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How the LAPP Committee failed the test of the condo rezoning proposal at 955 E Hastings Low-income members of the DTES Local Area Planning Process (LAPP) committee met with city staff about the rezoning proposal for condos at 955 E Hastings Street three separate times; an information meeting with lead planners, a discussion and letter drafting meeting in committee, a follow-up meeting redrafting the statement, and a discussion in a full LAPP Committee meeting. Does that sound like a lot of meetings? Well, welcome to the LAPP. It is important to meet with staff and make sure that our voices are heard, our groups and members justify, because the LAPP Committee has special power to make recommendations on condo proposals. It was part of the agreement we made with council.

And we need City Hall to take the LAPP Committee seriously because our lowincome community is investing massive amounts of time, energy and precious volunteer resources into the LAPP

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Committee. Instead of using our time and energy to organize townhall forums, protests and delegations to city hall with Downtown Eastside residents, we are relying on a city-process to amplify the voices of a community that has never felt heard or understood by City Hall. That requires a pretty serious leap of faith and also some evidence that our faith is not misplaced.

So did the LAPP help low-income residents speak and be heard in the planning of the DTES? At the first meeting LAPP Committee members had with city staff about the 955 E Hastings rezoning proposal CCAP explained that there are 154 units of privately owned low-income housing in hotels within two blocks of the rezoning site. The lesson of Woodward's, we said, is that those housing units are all threatened by gentrification. We asked: what is the city going to do to save low-income housing

If the rezoning proposal passes the block across from Raycam will be a 3-tower condo proje1

and services in the surrounding area from gentrification?

concerned and we felt that we had done our job.

LAPP Committee member Victoria Bull asked staff, "What are you going to do to stop the working girls from being kicked off the street by the tracks? The condo owners are not going to like the sex work stroll there."

However, by the time staff made their report to city council they had not met with any sex workers or their organizations.

And there was not one word in their report - neither oral nor written - relaying our concerns about gentrification, loss of hotel rooms, or the displacement of sex workers. When our community members spoke to council we did so in exactly the same situation we would have if we never spoke a single word with city staff; except we spent our time and energy working with staff instead of organizing with our community.

Planners told her that they did not know about these women working on the street beside the proposed project at 955 E Hastings.

Tracey Morrison, who sits on the LAPP for W AHRS, told the planners, "I volunteer doing peer support for WISH. We do patrols to support those women. It's also a long time trans sex worker stroll. They have a community there. They have been there for decades now and it's safer than in other places and no one bothers them."

The planners said they would arrange a meeting with PACE and WISH and would speak with women who work on the street at Raymur. They seemed legitimately

and a retail mall on the ground floor.

These problems are provoking many LAPP members to ask, should we leave the LAPP? After the 955 E Hastings rezoning hearin~ one thing is clear: our community's voices and needs would have been louder, stronger and better heard if we had never heard of a local area plan.

- ID

5

People on welfare are starving Raise the Rates welfare food challenge report What if everyone on welfare had a Masters degree in human nutrition and ten years experience as a professional cook? Would they be able to buy and cook enough food for a nutritious diet?

The answer is no, according to Gerry Kasten a registered dietitian to took the Welfare Food Challenge that ended October 23rd. Kasten told a news conference at the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House that, aftet:. buying $26 worth of food for a week, he was shmt 17 servings of fruits and veggies, and 17 servings of dairy. "It's not a matter of budgeting, said Kasten. "

I was short on many nutrients including vitamins, zinc and iron. We know that iron shortages can damage children's development for the rest of their lives." One thing that would make a welfare diet more nutritious, said Kasten, is "more money."

Kasten was one of over I 00 people who aren 't on welfare who took part in the welfare challenge, a week of eating on $26 worth of food. The challenge was issued

by Raise the Rates to show that people can't have a healthy diet if they are on welfare. People who took the challenge weren't allowed to eat anything in their

cupboards or anything that anyone gave them, only what they could buy with $26.

Raise the Rates calculates that a single person on welfare would only have $26 a week left for food after paying for rent, security deposit, bus tickets, phone and personal hygiene out of the welfare amount of $610 a month.

One week's worth of food on welfare

Grandmother Victoria Bull told the news conference that her group, Parents and Grandparents in Poverty were trying to get a meeting with the Premier to tell her what should be done about low welfare rates. "I am a grandparent raising my grandchild on welfare. Food is a constant struggle and wony; I try to do my best but it is very

hard on welfare. I have $178 a month for food, clothing and other expenses for the two of us, which is less than the people who took this Challenge. We need the government to take action."

Fraser Stuart, a Raise the Rates volunteer told the news conference, " I have to do this every week and it is a constant struggle; on welfare you are always looking for free food- even in dumpsters.

I know it is damaging my health. No one chooses to live on welfare; people are on welfare because of personal tragedies."

Ted Bruce who works at Vancouver Coastal Health also took up the Challenge. Bruce said he was surprised at the amount of stress he felt thinking that he was going to run out of food. He said the "path to disease is through stress and lack of control over our lives." A poverty reduction plan would actually save money for taxpayers, he said, by reducing sickness. - JS For more information on the Welfare Food Challenge, go to welfarefoodchallenge.org

7

Upcoming events you should come attend ...

Community Townha/1

Gentrification update!

WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE DTES LOCAL AREA PLANNING PROCESS?

STOP THE GENTRIFICATION OF THE DTES OPPENHEIMER DISTRICT

Thursday November 8 3pm Carnegie Theatre Come find out about the struggles in the DTES LAPP Committee and help debate what we should do to fight for the future of the DTES

Wednesday November 28 2pm Carnegie Theatre Come hear a report about the state of condo and boutique development in the DTES and join in planning about how to fight back and protect the heart of the community against high end development

Some websites to look at http://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com/ Virtually everything we're up to at CCAP gets posted on this blog. Click on the reports tab to read CCAP's reports. http://dtesnotfordevelopers.wordpress.com Website for the Downtown Eastside Not for Developers Coalition and the campaign to stop the Sequel 138 condos on the 100-block http :1/raisetherates. org/ See the Raise the Rates website for updates on the campaign to raise welfare and basic wages in BC and the fight for justice, not charity!

â&#x20AC;˘

Vancl.t y

vanCI.) uver foundation

Support for this project does not necessarily imply Vancity or Vancouver Foundation's endorsement of the findings or contents of this newsletter

8

Over 3 Y2 days in mid-October, this conference happened. Each of the ten key points here were addressed with facilitators and input from many activist groups & sectors in North America, with individual presenters having international experience. It was set up with five sessions over 2 ~ days, each time period with 5 workshops.

The one workshop l was especially inspired by explored "The Ethical Need for Revolutionary Change."

The entire text of this workshop can be found at EconomyDemocracyConference.org but the essence is in the following: " ... what the responsibility is of a citizen in a democracy, or what it is to be a globa l citizen, from "Instructions for living a life:" a poem by Mary Oliver.

Pay attention.

Be astonished.

Tell a bout it.

Now to me, that really tells what you need to do to be an ethical person. Or to be a citizen. Or to be an activist. You need to pay attention, you need to be astonished, and you need to tell about it."

What I found rich in irony was that the co-presenter was Bill Ayers. In the late '60s he and a partner cofounded the Weathermen, a radical and actively inyour-face organisation that was on the FBI's list of domestic terrorists. They set off a few bombs, always ensuring that no one would get hurt, but then were

copy-catted by a lot of nutbars (and more than a few times by the FBI & gov't orgs under Richard Nixon).

The Group then became one of the first, during Vietnam, to disappear- & now the Weather Underground.

Bill and his co-conspirators were underground for 11 years. His days of being actively involved have certainly not ended - he is now teaching at a university in the US (the Statute of Limitations finally rendered all charges against him moot).

He laughed about this conference being one of very few engagements where he was not met with angry protesters with picket signs screaming about his past and "unpatriotic" rhetoric. One speaking venue saw 25 Hell's Angels walk in in full dress colours and s it in the front row. The main man started with some rhetoric of his own, then Bill & he got into a dialogue, scrapping loaded terms & phrases (like patriot, global warming, '"free" trade, co-operation, community etc)* and ended up agreeing on a lot of stuff. Bill finished the story by saying they all went out for food & drink after and "they didn't even kill me!"

The revolution needed is larger than any one of us.

Each of us can and must fight for social and economic justice.

By PAULR TAYLOR *Say 'ener~ exploration' for oil drilling, 'government takeover' for healthcare reform, ' death tax' for estate tax, 'waste' for government spend ing, 'job creator' for capitalist, 'pay for performance' for CEO bonuses, 'economic freedom' for global capitalism . . .

..: -::-

,F

/ ./ 2; Following are the five fundamental principles of the Progressive Utilisation Theory- PROUT- food for thought for a ravenous people (us).

1.

No individual should be allowed to accumulate any physical wealth without the clear permission or approval of the collective body.

(Four causes of accumulation are: a) individual necessity; b) personal & collective responsibility; c) longing for infinite happiness; d) mental disease.)

2.

There should be maximum utilisation and rational distribution of all mundane, supramundane and spiritual potentialities of the universe.

(Diversity is the law of nature; equality will never be.)

3.

There should be maximum u~ilisation of all physical, metaphysical & spiritual potentialities of unit & collective bodies of human society.

(Collective good lies with individuals; individual good lies with the collectivity.)

4.

There should be a proper adjustment amongst these physical, metaphysical, mundane, supramundane and spiritual potentialities.

(All individuals should become well-rounded physically, mer-tally and spiritually. There must be a proper adjustment with potentialities.)

5.

The method of utilisation should vary in accordance with the changes of time, place & person, & these utilisations should be of a pro+ gressive nature.

COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP TRAINING by the Metro Vancouver Alliance This training is for those who share an interest in strengthening civil society and working together for the common good. Part of the training experie nce w ill be working with other community leaders from diverse institutions on the universals of broad based community organizing.

The Institute provides content based on the philosophy and practices developed by the Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF) in over 50 years of organizing experience. The topics include: • Why organize? - examining the history and traditions of our religious, union, community and educational organizations.

• The fundamental organizing skills- individual relational meetings, listen ing sessions, research, negotiations and action.

• Strengthening our institutions- systematically engaging people in a culture that is relational, action- oriented and reflective.

• Problems vs. issues - moving from general problems to concrete, winnable issues.

• Using relational power in the public arena to negotiate for the common good.

When: Friday Nov. 9, 7-9 pm and Saturday Nov. 10, 9.30 am- 3.30 pm Where: BC Teachers' Federation, 550 West 6th Avenue, Vancouver, Near the Olympic Village Skytrain Cost: The Carnegie Community Centre Association is a member organization of the MY A -so there is no cost for individual Carnegie members . Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

Registration: To register, or for further information, please email: metrovancouveralliance@ hotmail.com with your name, organization and contact details.

Sunday morning past earthquake shock just the regular schlock from those of us left who can actually talk but as you can see the line-up ain't around the block oops, time for medicine to remind myself of who I am and where I've been trying to get back into the same old skin before all the methadone seen Ratso bouncing up the street as usual shufflin his feet a different set of lies

for every sucka he meets only gambler I ever seen doesn't count on what he wins he's proud as a truck on how much money he lost last week his measuring stick to success needs a little tweak proud as duck on how much money he let slip enough to sink his flailing ship enough to buy his 'ho another leather whip to remind him that the riches that blind him the loves he's left behind

Itt' games he could never win places he's never been call him Ratso cause he's my only friend oh well he must be s ure he can trust me with the untold fortune he's passed away hell yes it's just another Sunday just another fun day keep hoping one day I'll wake up before the earthquake shows up hafta pray it don't hit before I finally quit spouting this shit I know you hope I just quit

~~ this endless bullshit me and Ratso score another hit time's up gotta quit no sense left no time left to spit so brother my ride just pulled up the loony bin's full up so pass the bottleof pills you know I got to kill blast myself for the thrill reality is in this little yellow pill the ones I just took this Sunday morning when the earth shook Rod Black

THE ABSENT-MINDED CREATOR Like a Syrian reality show called "Dancing Between The Landmines" every winner has been killed and put on display as all the children play they have not been contaminated yet very very good GO TEAM GO, They have no role models let alone parents how long before they too are consumed by this sadly apparent lack of respect, just too many bloody hands on their time Will you please let them go?! Take a normal family of 5 give or take now for the Greater Good make no mistake for every single one pumped out a thousand somewhere else will die on that you can bank, like asking a bartender for 'a country on the rocks' with the oldest child making their supper- no one really talks but their empty stomachs are heard loud & clear they have this ability to still say thanks Now look deep into the eyes of one of these children -waking up is always a surprise but when the screaming and the flames take all they've got then to top it off they are seen as the ones to blame, with no rooms for fail ure they get moved around a lot things they had they now haven't got just how long would it be if mankind had its own sidewalk of fame not a lot or too much as many see this as a game, like with a chainsmoking forest ranger every tree is petrified knowing full well they're in danger well the same with kids whose future is s uspect at best; as soon as they sense trouble some wil l give up and blend in these selfish multiple pregnancies are like reason for population explosions and are treated like a rash on your skin has it sunk in this is no contest I knew right from wrong all those that used I ies and cheating knew it too but because 'everybody' does it their thoughtwaves must be high on glue bes ides it has always been fashionable to be cruel, so many are put quickly out there to work where innocence exists evil always lurks from start to finish beginning to end this evil always makes sickness and excess selfishness seem so cool, even when they achieve their one-in-amillion dream they have made someone else richer they are on the Gotcha side of their scheme Innocence Anonymous awaits your slow but eventual call, when you look at the moon & see its face is it on your side or laughing at you? And then you c lutch your chest & take a painful fall, the child you were is now very old you try to resurrect it but it doesn't take hold where is that innocence you used to know firsthand, like a pawnshop that deals strictly in souls no future gadgets or computer magic just your life & your li berty every-

thing else goes all you have earned is worth about the same as a scoop of ordinary sand, like donating 666 dollars to the Jerry Springer Satanic Telethon with themes like 'your best friend has had sex with your grandmother's twin or an al ien from another world sucked all the life out of me and i must die before He can begin or I lipsynch exorcisms for a li ving and it's killing me and on & on it goes Now freedom of expression has always been good to me but psychological disorders slamdance inside my head as for the path ahead we will have to wait &see .. all th is knowledge kills off the innocence yet somewhere else it grows, like an absent-minded creator the new innocent ones need help now or there won't be a later let's face it most viewers & readers have turned us off by the time they reach 4 or 5, like a land with no confessions just tinfoil soldiers who can watch both the economy and their veins collapse the embers all smoulder yet somewhere the new innocents will thrive; no one laughs all the way to the food-bank we all have our files but still we are all the saine rank the least words do not always have to hurt & leave their mark as long as the sea doesn't turn black the future wi II give us what we lack equal amounts of Light as there are Dark, now I know it is getting late by that Avoid Activities Requiring Alertness look in your eyes it's been great talking about events yet to come, Tinfoil soldiers can be left with either broken streets or vacant yet ready to build kingdoms Just remember the next child you pass can either shine like a diamond or shattered bits of glass- their future is unwritten ...

By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY And So the Rain has stopped for a bit the grass greener than ever the Sun brighter the sweep of rays sparkle and stun natural tae u cold fusion imploding our experience let us go now and celebrate the end of summer the beginning cometh Christmas and gingle bells a caleche in the park Giddy up After the autumn the time of carnival.

CRUNCH~cltes

Imagine a Woman Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman, A woman who honours her experiences and tells her stories, Who refuses to carry the sins of other within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who believes she is good, A woman who trusts and respects herself, Who listens to her needs and desires, and meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past's influence on the present, A woman who has walked through her past, Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life, A woman who exerts, initiates and moves on her own behalf, Who refuses to surrender except to her frugal self and to her wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness Who designs her own spiritually and allows it to inform her daily life ..

Imagine a woman in love with her own body A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is Who celebrates her body and its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honours the face of the Goddess in her changing face A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom Who refuses to use precious energy disguising the changes in her body and life

i

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life A woman who sits in circles of women Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forget Imagine yourself as this woman.

------------------------~

Author unknown.

My Apple just Bit me B a c k - - - - - / Funny world we live in if it ain 't funny ha ha it's funny strange Whacko Taliban shoot a 14yr-old girl in the head wanting her dead 'Cause she felt a need to be able to read but these extreme muthas can't handle it w hen a woman gets some freedom, even a tiny bit, a nd her kids can't w rite (lucky if they type) but calligraphy is a losfart no matter how dumb or how smart my own kids can read the heavy stuff but couldn't write an SOS if shit got tough s hut down the ' net and everybody'd just shit wouldn't know how to get it done or when to quit

be lost on all counts if the power got cut couldn' t bust a nut, sad to say we've out-civilized ourselves to Doomsday couldn' t fill a tank or run a bank ' less some digital monster say so what happens if the machine say no by the way can you tell me which way the wind blows? what you forget outweighs what you know couldn't start a fire if the cold snow blows so damn smart we like helpless babes ' til we re-up the computer and do what it says kids growing up on video games, don't know shit about s hit any other way was a time we were well read but not these days these days we don't even think, can't blink until a digital dictator says it's okay I'm lost in the past - the pre-computer days don't mind me if the past is where I choose to stay ... ' til my dying day Zora Quantrell

Downtown Eastside Chefs It is about style, We all have one and we show once in a while.

Each is special in their own way, I have more to say.

Downtown Eastside chefs, all are g reat, I am sure you can relate.

Downtown Eastside chefs, a cut above the rest, They gave their all, yes, they gave us their best.

by Isidore Lahache from NW Territories, visiting from Victoria on the occasion of the TinPan Chef Cooking Competition DTES Heart ofthe City Festival

CUT ME SOME SLACK Please don 't crowd me, don't bump me to the curb, the bike nor the bus lane; stop shoving me around 'cause J really need my space for my very ownthough l certainly do love sharing with others and feel free doing so (Does that sound somewhat contradictory?) I don't have time to talk to anybody right now.

No small talk neither. I'm totally not into conversation right now, I am currently, carefully negotiating tight corners at the moment, hope you get the picture, be cool ' n just stay away from me beat it amscray to reiterate my point! Pleaseandthankyou within an eerie atmosphere of fireworks poppin' off everywhere and unexpectedly. Sirens wailing acoustically booming off historic g ranite & limestone heritage buildings, cars, buses, trucks, shooting through oilslicked muddy puddles, potholes, you name it it's happening folks.

I pray hard for some form of privacy, some semblance of silence, solitariness, peace of mind, or for absolute seclusion, however brief, for the next little while ... and ending with blaring white noise, kaos, confusion,

you name it you've been there too (or am I guess ing thoughts; not possible in our current universe) So what's the plan? You tell me or ' discuss it at a more convenient, appropriate time' Ok radical, so let's move on then; parting in separate ways in different directions with no offense nothing personal, none intentional but I'm desperately searching for sanctuary -somewhere, maybe high in the sky .. up in the louds - not possible, I know, but l can dream can't i? that's what keeps me going -so insecure- I'm sure so outta my way clear the deck and try hard to leave me alone all by myself all by my lonesome .. I'm tired of being boxed in, open season on privacy I suppose ... it's upside down sideways backwards, out of control, remotely resembling a very loose facsimile of a coming catastrophe, personified.

So watch out, be warned, I'm out to take an extende4d hike and I'm flying on empty. I just gotta find the shortest distance between spots on the long hard road to serenity. To my cell, room, flophouse, apartment if you wish - I don't know What I prefer is to regain control of my battered, shabby hell, although feeling complacent, like a budgie bird hanging upside down, head over heels in a cheap crooked wire cage dangling from my perch is busty dust blowing off twisted treats - you get the pic, ain't no recipe for success; now I mull it over, my mind screaming for help, a soft form of companionship, comparing notes with a chemistry Help me I rage in the core of my being just to be close to someone, compassionately, a soul-mate is that ask ing for too much? I think not. Sometimes I'm like a person who wants to check into a detox unit, dry out straig hten up and get back on the right track and get out with resolve, resilience & optism. So you turn on their dingy doorstep, wellwom by the many that came before you, only to be told on a crackling intercom connection 'Sorry we've got a full house.' no room at the Inn; you hear abruptly and coldly from a nondescript for-off voice as they observe you anonymously from a bluebug camera & securely anchored door jam so some lost soul won't rip it out of the wall and sell it on the black market as a reject, like an abandoned baby left out in the chill of cold reality without hallucinogens or friends, just foes. Where to go, who to turn to now to fix this bad trip- you tell me- I'll be out there for a little while yet, you can count on it.

ROBYN LIVINGSTONE

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Meade

7.

THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association.

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deal with the homelsss and the temporarily-housed homeless*, whose fight is with the Provincial government of Campbell/Clark and his/her masters (most affiliated with the Fraser Institute). The Feds got 'out' of housing 19 years ago; the homeless, the lack of affordable, decent housing, the introduction of workfare (Ontario) and ongoing pressure for the same (BC)and the undermining of public labour and collective agreeHomeless, ments, dwindling wages and full-time jobs, slashing , social programs- all done quite enthusiastically by neolt seems that Canada's corporate cretins are no lor. -, .... -: liberals[New World Order] brings us to a conscious deer much interested in our 'image'_ The facts of this " '' · - cision made and passed on as orders to the law- passers: national disgrace are carefully managed, with the "It doesn't matter who or how many lose or become homeless themselves being used to shoot themselves poor or are ejected by our great market. We (sic) are in the foot. going global and can't afford to treat these as individuals."

Witness the apparent lack of national concern over the 30,000+ people forced into the streets in Toronto alone, So it must be irritating when these pesky people get due directly to the s lashing of ass istance by 21 %and th active and loud. Enter the media, and enter the careful concerted movement away from affordable, low-income manipulation of Who/What/Where/When/Why. The resihousing. The policy makers have instructed their politidents of the Downtown Eastside gel greased for speakcians to take the 'global' view: ing against projects that have "a good percentage (6Virtually every 3rd World city has thousands to tens of II %) of units at welfare rates ['·Oh, and there'll be thousands of people who are destitute, eking out an ex90%+ ofthem as market condos) and then Woodwards' istence on the streets with no welfare or public support housed-at-welfare people trash people for not being "reat all. The dismantling of the USSR continues showing alistic enough" and the Oppenheimer park people get the consequences of the "shock treatment" each indetrashed for scarmg away a local kids' program etc. These pendent area is still reeling from, with the natural relittle faux pas, even after taking into account the exagsources like timber, minerals, water and oil being raped geration by media, irritate supporters- and divide and from the land by criminal cartels. In Moscow, public conquer rules. records show that an average of four homeless people It's hard to know where to go from here, but calls to die every day from exposure but the policy makers have write MLAs or 'put pressure' on the Province seem kind again ordered their politicians to mimic the press of e mpty. Keep watch and keep responding, as the (owned by the criminals) in vi lifying all homeless as home less will be seeing a lot of new faces in April2013 . "failures", "losers" etc.

The Liberals/Campbeli/ClarkiCEOs have set it up so In every populous area, be it India, China, Southeast those with the most sympathy or empathy with low inAsia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, the Central come people wi ll likely be in the social company of and South American major cities and throughout the those evicting welfare recipients and being blamed for USA, homeless people are seen as a "fact of life" with "causing" the problem. little thought given by respective governments on how For local initiatives get on the CCAP mail list, and do their masters' systems (almost invariably corporate capinot abandon your own stuff. Struggle on every front talist) could have produced so many disposable peoplewith everything is more important than you or I can pos'rejects' of their great market-driven machines? In the sibl y imagine.

USA the corporate bosses were initially mystified by Those with the po-wer right now want us to believe the growing legions of Bag Ladies but they, like their that our situation is hopeless, but Spirit is in us, on us, male counterparts, are not unique: just more grist for the all around us_ Be strong. mill.

By PAULR TAYLOR Back to Canada. It is disconcerting for the current city government here in Vancouver to have to confront and

INI G SESSI s To become a vendor you need to attend a training session. You'll get a legal vending permit for the calendar + one free calendar to get you started. Vendors buy each calendar for $1 0 and sell them for 520.

LiteS kills 412 East Cordova Monday November 5, 1pm - 2pm Wednesday November 14, 1pm - 2pm Monday November 19, 1pm - 2pm Monday November 26, 1pm - 2pm Please note: sessions are one hour and limited to 16 people.

Sign up on the day, 10 minutes before the session begins.

For more info call: 604-255-9701 ext 136 or visit 121 Heatley Ave. (at Alexander)

HOPE IN SHADOWS

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