SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
401 Main Street, V6A 21'7
NEW EMAIL ADDRESS camnews@shaw.ca www.camnews.org -400 hits per day! http://harvesters.sfu.ca/chodarr (INDEX)
604-665-2289
What's so special about Public Libraries First of al l, libraries are warm, welcoming environments where all are welcome to read, explore, play quietly or just si t for a needed break. How many government institutions can say that? People who work in our libraries are a dynamic group of individuals who practice what they say they believe (and seldom ' preach').. Many ride their bikes or take transit to work, just to keep one more car off the road. Most are volunteers in their communities and participate in social justice in itiatives. Each is active as an educator; some are entertainers par excellence, performing at poetry readings, children's outings and in community programs held in the library. Another tine point is the professionalism of staff. It's almost unheard of that a librarian loses her or his temper no matter what is going on with anyone. A line example was when the librarians joined the civic workers' strike in 2007. It was the first time since collective agreements were introduced to the YPL, and virtually all citizens conscious of that were unanimous in saying "They (the City of Vancouver under Sam Sullivan and the NPA) must have reallv pissed them off because the librarians are so nice!" During this strike the Central Branch had scores of library workers arriving most every day to duti fully carry picket signs, but much more to teach or learn to sew, join a large group knitting touques for homeless people, make all kinds of origami for decorations, share music (either playing or singing) and making buttons with sayings like "It's OK, I don ' t remember your name either!" Hooray for our Library Workers!!! By LISA DAV ID
Carnegie Theatre Workshop
Special Fall Program September & October
Saturday afternoons Watch for Posters with detail s !
22%, cut to Libraries Better than Expected As On August 18, BC public libraries got word that this year's budget wi ll be cut by 22% from last year's. Although thi s is a significant cut. it's not as bad as we had feared. Much of the credit for this has to go to those of you who sent messages of suppor1. thanks!
As fa r as specifics go, library operating grants have been maintained. Some province-wide initiatives, notably AskA way (virtual reference service), Books for Babies, and electronic databases, have been discontinued for 20 I0. Thanks a million to everyone who sent letters, contacted their MLA and the Minister, and showed us how important public libraries are to you! Beth, your librarian Call tor Entry: Coast Mental Health Resource Centre in Downtown Vancouver, BC is inviting artists who live, work volunteer or otherwise consider the Downtown South their co~munity to submit a rtwork for a juried exhibit, CONNECT Our community our art our show. Submit 5 to 8 original works of art: both 2-D and 3-D artworks are accepted. Submissions can be dropped off on September 9th from 10am-2pm at The Gathering Place, located at 609 Helmcken Street, or on September 11th at the Coast Mental Health Resource Centre located at 1225 Seymour Street. For s ubmission details and times to pick up the artwork, please call Jeanne Krabbendam at 604-434-1367 or email jeanne@axion.net
"It's not as bad as we thought it would be... " and the next, expected bit, if you want to laugh, is "it's worse." Public libraries are having their government fundi ng cut by 22%. If you want to be positive the numbers can go with " it was 15% ofthe entire budget so now it will be just 12%." But liken the cut to the HealthCare being cut by another $300,000,000. In case you haven' t noticed, entire hospitals have already been closed, forcing all staff to seek work elsewhere and all people who had grown to rely on a local hospital to now li ve with the uncertainty and possible life-threatening consequence Beds have been closed, often up to one-quarter of them on a ward or floor. Media and/or government
reports this giving an image of putting a "sorry. not in service" sign on the end of all these beds, as though it has to wait indefinitely to be made or changed for clean sheets. The reality is that each cut to o ur health care system causes numerous job losses, leaving fewer staff to work harder and longer, often for the same pay. It all leads to a weakening o f our public system and makes private (for profit) care more 'necessary' "because the public system is getting too fragmented, unable to meet the need." An example of this government' s priori ties is its breaking of the law under the Canada Health Act which prohibits the provision of private, for profit medical surgery and acute care. British Columbia pays a fine of $500,000 (either a month or a year~ to the Federal government fo r permitting the operation of o ur fi rst private, fo r-profit hospital in Vancouver. And accord ing to the North American " Free" Trade Agreement (NAFTA) once a commodity or service is privatized, it must be opened to all other people/ corporations wanting to make a profi t in that field. Back to our public libraries: Even conceiving of the privatization of this essential service has been anathema since at least the fo unding of this country. A private, for-profit library system is an oxymoronic dream of those who'd turn the human rig ht and need for education into some kind of diseased cash cow. Any Librarian is worth her/his salt because (pardon me if this sounds like a stereotype) of the unfailing wish to help make reading and learning a positive experience. Anyone need ing assistance o r with an idea for a program to assist others (like a Moms & T ots Storytime with a C hildren's Librarian acting the part of Mother Goose or the Wicked Witch and making her own hand puppets and playing a guitar just to enthrall the little guys) can find a positive reception in virtually any library and wi ll not be made to feel like a dummy o r stupid or too weird to be allowed in. But this government- Gordon Campbell and his puppet masters in the Fraser Institute - have just spent literally unto ld h undreds of millions of dollars on the Olympics - well, on the things that make as much as money for private profiteers as possible. The benefi ts that the citizens of this province will get are dubious at best. The Canada Line with $2.5 billion on a straight shot to the airport; the Sea-to-Sky highway with $1.6 bi llion to widen the road so the ski resorts
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can get more business, well over $ 1 billion just on ., security and on and on. The legacy promised has ~ proven to be so much hot air, with the legacy to be realized being the loss of numerous public services, library programs and even library open hours, cuts in a ll manner of health-re lated coverage and services, and of course the ongoing neglect fo r social hous ing and livable minimum wage and we lfa re rates. It cannot be met with just anger or just dragging these bozos over the coals of public media. The big med ia has been making this clear for years, with the public crucifixtion of the NDP when they were in government and the spun ride that the BC Liberals and their backers (owners) get dai ly. Remember how much indignation there was every day in every way over the so-called Fast Ferries? They cost just over $400 million and were $50-75 mill ion over budget. The new convention centre, right beside the 'old' one, was budgeted to cost about $400 million but has come in at over $800,000,000. The media coverage has been minimal on the money and overboard on the people who showed up 'On opening day for the freebees. CT V has stated that it "will not cover any event that is anti-Olympic.' It also spins the coverage of housing protests and homelessness and poverty and health care cuts and scab workers and land g rabs and the exposure of any corporate malfeasance to be mostly due to the "misconceptions" of the protesters/investigators & pissed off people getting screwed. By PAULR TAYLOR PS: All hail the Vancouver Public Library system and its wonderfu l stafr.! !
tion, adult.e?ucation, theatre. radio, stand-up comedy, A bongmal arts and crafts, and traditional healing. Eventually, she became pol itically active and remains active in the Native struggle against racism sexism and economic oppression. ' New !looks
News from the Library Lee Maracle On Friday, Se pt 4, Carneg ie I Jail has the pleasure of hosting acclai med Aboriginal author Lee Maracle as she reads from her novel Will's Garden. A coming of age story o f a young St6:1o man, it explores and describes the ceremonial tradi tions of St6:1o boys who are becoming men. lee Maracle is a leader in personal and cultural reclamation and international expert on Canadian First Nations culture and history. She says, "In my part of the world, women are the keepers of the internal world, of social relations. So today, that's about being a feminist." Lee Maracle is a Native Canadian writer whose work is unparalleled in its creativity and scope. Through novels, poetry, drama, perfo rmance art and storytelling. she exposes and explores the experience of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. She wrote her first poem the day she learned to read and knew at the age of I 0 that she wanted to recreate myths. Writing has helped her "create a new place of belonging" by going back to aboriginal stories and re-creating them in a modern, personal context. Maracle is of Salish and Cree ancestry and a member of the St6:16 Nation. She g rew up in a poor ne ighbourhood in North Vancouver and was one of the first Aboriginal people to go to public school. Feeling isolated from her own culture as we ll as an outsider in Ca~adian culture, she dropped out of school 0 and later dnfted from western Canada to CaliforniaO to Toronto. supporting herself by working in construction. hospital laundry, nightclubs, film
Bob Marley: Reggae King ofthe World is Malika Lee Whitney & Dermott Hussye's tribute to the life and music of the Rastaman. Written just a few years after his death, in 1984, the book has some great photos of Bob Marley in concert, with friends & fami ly, and (my favourite) playing soccer. *Look up. Look way, way up. Natio nal Geographic's Backyard Guide to the Nig ht Sky (523.8) helps you tel l your Cassiopeia from your Camelopardis as you look at the stars. There' s a lso some great information and illustrations about things like solar eclipses, s unquakes, photographi ng the stars, and meteor showers. *About ten days after 9111, General Wes ley C lark had a conversation with another general about a memo from the Secretary of Defence's office descri bing "how we're going to take out seven countries in fi ve years.'' Editor Stephen Elliot1, authors Jason Roberts, Eric Martin, and Andrew Altschul, and a team of twenty researchers have re-created this document for the present day. Where to In vade Next (956.7) conta ins seven essays. 100 percent factual, laying out in stark detail how the arguments for invasian could be made . A biting look at the role of propaganda in foreign pol icy, this book outlines exact ly how o ur leaders might make the case for war. *Aboriginal Australian people honour a female spirit called a Yawkyawk, who li ves in sacred waterholes and often looks like a mermaid. Yawkyawks bring rains, fertil ity, and violent storms. They are shapeshifters and can take the form of a crocodile, a swo rd fis h, or a snake. Japanese folklore tells of the Nue, ~vhich has the head o f a monkey, the body of a ta,nukl (raccoon dog), the legs of a tiger, and the tail snake. The Nue can transform into a black cloud O ~nd ny around, and is said to bring misfortune and •ll~~ss. Learn about these and other legendary and spmtual creatures in Th e Mythical Creatures Bible (398
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Vancouver Pu bliC L1brary presents
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Lee Maracle
Join acclaimed Aboriginal author Lee Maracle as she reads from her novel WILL's GARDEN. A coming of age story, it explores and describes the ceremonial traditions of Sto: loh boys who are becoming men.
tuesday september l
friday september 4
7:30p.m. Alma VanD usen & Peter Kaye Rooms, Lower Level Central Library 350 West Georgia Street
7:30p.m. Carnegie Theatre Carnegie Branch 401 Main Street
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Adm1ssion is Free. Seating 1s hm1ted
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what frustration smells like to me. I notice that the leaves are fa lling off the trees already as I see them sway slightly in the breeze. I regretfully realize that s ummer will soon be over. As regrets and the many leaves constantly waver through the air, so do my thoughts. Many days the fragrances of life envelop my whole being with sweetness, but today I cannot smell it. I am struggling with the words to write and I just feel like giving up right now. Since I read Spencer Johnson's book called One Minute Teacher I have done well with writing 500 words daily. The strugg le smells like a c innamon bun I can't have because it has too much sugar. I crave it especially w hen I can sme ll them fresh ly taken out of the oven Once in a while I give in to my cravings and eat a whole cinnamon bun. The consequences are an upset stomach because of my digesti ve system . I refuse to do that The next Thurs days Creative Writing with my writing because I want to be a writer so Class begi ns Thursday) Sept 17 at 2pm. badly that I will not give up. Join Elee Kralji i Gardiner and write r s When I find it d ifficult to write it seems as though from the two Thursdays anthologies for time passes too quickly, but also that time stands still excitin g and s upportive discussions because nothing is being written. My sense of being about writing. Bring a pen and pap e r) is uncomfortable and the air seems stagnant with the and any questions or interests you want tho ughts that become disorganized in my mind. to explore. We wi l l be wr iting a lot in I especially do not want to break my reco rd of writclass and working towards publishing ing daily, o r it mig ht once again be norm for me to our work online in Decembe r o n only w rite sporad ically. Breaking my record would www.thursdayspoemsandp rose . ca . Che c k seem like a breath of fresh air dissipating into foul the website for details . Class runs smells of a garbage heap in the hot sun. For whatever 2pm-4pm) Sep 17 to Nov 26 every Thu rs reason I cannot put words together cohesively, which day on the third floor of Carnegie. w ill d isappoint me greatly. My disappointment smells This is not an ES L class but everyone like leftover food that I need to eat and I'm not lookis welcome; grammar and spel ling are ing forward to it. Even if I did enjoy the previous not an i ss ue ) but please s hare a will day's meal, food will be wasted if I do not and also ingness to ex press to yourself. Feel my time wi ll be wasted if I do not write. free to d rop in ! .aCiai:IZI:ICE:II:JCJI~~ It has taken me more than an hour to write 398 words and I' m determined to make my 500 count today. I guess this is what they call writer's block; it's very frustrating. Writer's block smells like a bloody nose and someti mes a meta llic odour li ngers in your nostScents of Feelings rils. Sometimes this can also affect the taste buds and Today is Wednesday, April 26, 2009 and I'm finding if I can't taste food I do not have an appetite. it difficult coming up with something to write about. These are the feelings I am going through rig ht now It seems as though thoughts come and go so neetingand I've tried to describe how these fee lings smell in ly it feels like a waft of warm air that makes me feel my mind . I got this from a w riter's prompt on the sticky on a hot day. An aura of perspiration surrounds Internet and it's been a struggle but I did it. my mind even thoug h it' s not a hot day, but that is By B ETTY SPINKS
Fa rewell for now, Aaron Aaron, one of Carnegie's part-time librarians, is heading off to Korea for a year of ES L teach ing, language and music study. I le also designs on reforming the Korean library system , but that's a secret. Don't tell anyone, OK? Aaron's been a wonderful addition to the Carnegie lib rary over the past couple of years. We wish him the best on his Korean adventure, and hope to sec him back here very soon. As Aaron said in his farewell note: "As an auxiliary, I've travel led around the branches and worked with a lot of really great peop le, but can honestly say that the staff at Carnegie is the most dedicated, competent and compassionate that I have worked with. I believe in this library, and I can see that you do too. It' s been a real privilege for me to work here, and especially to work with all of you."
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Free Seniors 11 Move It" Exercise Class at the Interurban
Bonnie. dtd you not1ce most everything you buy these days is made in China ! It's amazing !!!
The Downtown Easts ide Centre for the Arts is offering a light exercise program. It is designed for anyo ne over 50 who would like to participate & for anyone who has mobil ity concems. T his program offers simple movement techniques to allow physical activity in a supportive and controlled enviromnent. Friendly instructor & inspiring music. T he program runs on Wednesdays from lOam to 11 :30am at the Inte rurban Gallery, 1 E Hastings. In partnership with: Joe Ink Dance Company - Portland Hotel Society
The person who puts your Carnegie Newsletter in an envelope and then affixes postage apologises to all subscribers for having to use Olympics mascot stamps.
My jacket t -shtrt. pants. socks and shoes all made tn Chtna ' Toys. consumer electronics. food. steel and plasttc products. and many many other productsthe list goes on and on and on. All made in Chtna !
Our chinese teacher Mrs . Chow. just had a baby yesterday ... at St. Paul's hosp1tal !
HAZEL DAVIES is in St Paul's Hospital, 7B
Room 23. She'd appreciate visitors and cigs.
Posted in the East End Food Co-op:
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Due to the ongoing struggle of the banana farmers in Peru where we get our FAIR TRAD E bananas, we at the East End Food Co-op, in solidarity with these hard-working, fellow co-op members, refuse to carry any DOLE products until the fanners are no longer strong-armed by the mega-corporation. The Co-op farmers who produce our FA IR TRADE bananas are being strong-armed by DOLE, who are offering them a paltry $3.00 per box of bananas in an effort to steal thei r li velihood from them. We believe strongly that this is unjust and refuse to carry any other DOLE products unti l these farmers are treated fairly and given a fair wage for their work and for their produce. This means we will divest ourselves of pineapples and fru it juices. Please be patient and help us to support these amazing farmers by NOT BUYING DOLE PRODUCTS!!! In solidarity, EE Food Co-op
Wages, welfare falling behind: not news By Rolf Auer "The cost of our empire of illusion is not being paid by the corporate titans. It is being paid on the streets of our inner cities, in former manufacturing towns, and in depressed rural enclaves. This cost transcends declining numbers and statistics and speaks the language of human misery and pain. Human beings are not commodities. They are not goods. They grieve and feel despair. They raise children and struggle to maintain communities. The growing class divide is not understood, despite the glibness of many in the media, by complicated sets of statistics, lines on a graph that chart stocks, or the absurd, utopian faith in unregulated globalization and complicated trade deals. It is understood in the eyes of a man or woman who is no longer making enough money to live with dignity and hope."-Chris I ledges, Empire ofJllusion (pp. 159) "A new study by Ottawa-based Centre for the Study of L iving Standards reports that Canadian employees have not received the benefits of increased economic productivity over the past two decades. ' Economists argue productivity increases should lead to proportional gains in in flation-adjusted wages,' said Andrew Sharpe, executi ve director at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards. ' But the figures show this has not happened in Canada over the past 25 years.' lie said the inevitable conclusion is gains from productivity advances have not been shared equitably
among all members of society. Canad ian workers have not been receiving their piece of the financial pie, when it comes to the huge economic benefits corporati ons are receiving from technological upgrades.'路-- Canadian employees "not reaping" benefits of increased productivity, M ichelle MacLeod, Dec. 12, 2008 With regards to the minimum wage and welfare. the same thing is happening in BC. When the economy was good, the government refused to raise the minimum wage claiming it would result in job losses. Now that the economy is tanking, the government refuses to raise the minimum wage claiming it would result in job losses. (Research has proven this claim to be bogus.) The BC Federation of Labour wants the minimum wage (after an eight-year-long freeze and now one of the lowest in Canada) to be raised 25 percent from $8 per hour to $ 10 per hour. Raise The Rates also wants the minimum wage raised to $ 10 per hour and indexed to inflation. The Living Wage Campaign wants the minimum wage raised to $ 16$17 per hour. " If welfare for a single person had the same purchasing power today that it had i n 1981, it would be $870 a month. But people only get $6 10 a month today.'' -Better Incomes. Carnegie Community Action Project website. There was a $ 100 increase in welfare a little while ago, no doubt due to pressure by advocacy groups such as Raise The Rates and the Carnegie Community Action Project, to name two. But as you can see from the statement from CCAP's website, the increase was inadequate, a token gesture at best. Meanwhile, Gordo is busy cutting everything he can get away with. He even cut a special fund for disabled chi ldren and chi ldren on welfare to go to summer camp worth a paltry $360,000. I w rote th is lener to the editor of The Vancouver Sun (it wasn' t
Nervous In the Service? published): '路June 19, 2009 To The Editor: Re "Disabled, welfare kids to miss out on summer camp after funds frozen," June 19: Alright! What right do "disabled and welfare" kids have to go to camp on the government's ticket? I'm a working taxpayer and I won't stand for it. Give the Premier, his government, and civil service workers more mega-raises instead! Yours sincerely, Rolf Auer"' The funding was reinstated, but by that time it was too late: the spaces at the camps had been filled. Nice timi ng, Gordo! And 路what's with building the Canada Line for $2 billion in time for the 20 I0 Olympics, when cheaper. rapid transit could have filled the bill adequately? Whars \\ ith bringing the Olympics to Vancou\er in the first place, spending all that money on venues that in all likelihood will never be used again, money that could be better spent on other things such as, oh, say, raising welfare rates and building more social housing? What's with saddling the City of Vancouver with a bill for $1 billion for Olympic Village when it can't even afford to keep homeless shelters open? What"s with spending $600 million on the Sea to Sky highway j ust to prepare it for travel for the Olympics? What's with cutt ing our healthcarc, library funding, and so on? What's with bringing down a new tax on us, we who are already so poor that we dorft have enough to live on? Can you answer any of these questions for us, Gordo, please? Or are you too busy off in your ivory tower to deign to speak with us mere mortals?
Finally after plus des struggles I came to the Field of Fear In this Beastly Columbia This No-Man's Land I seem to have run out of moxy and Money sametime, sametime This lie ol gale from Boxey Harbour This Mist of Fonuna West fo Buri n a peninsula Not an island - almost so though. That geography ca lls to me Speaks in t5ongues of time and place Red granite rock and Sandy Cove The Barachoix of Boxey Brook Caves on Stone's !lead Rowing with my grandfather and Eleanor, a distant cousin A cold spring of \\ater in Breakhean Mountain - a hill to me now because I have seen the Rock ies Water gushing from underground ley cold from the Rock Newfound landish Our close brook dried up last summer On a hot morning barrels are brought Lukey路s boat is painted green A hi me byes A hi me diddle age day. I lome far away This stranger, far uglier, alien Non-canadian, panly this partly that Wholly belonging nowhere No body's child A dirty Newfie in llalifax A homeless non-confonnist in La La Land. Wilhelmina Miles
The more beliefs and conclusions you have about life, the less you are willing to experience the wealth and beauty oflife. One of the fi rst things to do is to learn to get in touch with the silence withi n you rself and know that everything in life has a purpose. Ruth Matcmotja
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I don't do well in this world, largely due to my inability to doggedly devote most of my time and energy to the g.n.p, that is, hold down a job. This shortcoming has tormemed me all my adult life. I am a bum! (albeit a good bum). A couple of years ago I was labeled a "survivor of torture" and put on disability welfare. Now my dysfunction is socially legitimate, and I have a little less mental anguish. Mymind is not a pretty realm. For over forty-five years most of the ·input' I've had has been garbage. not that that's unique. 11 is the human condition. Human frationale is at odds with nature, so all of our cleverness is in fact insanity. The only way I've found to not suffer my inner dialogue (so much) is to disengage from it; not an easy thing to do. Something that helps in this regard is listeni ng. We attend to our thoughts by listening to them (even though they make no sound. Listening closely to the symphony of sounds around us makes it easier to relegate inner chauer to a less impositinal place, next to '·head humming"' for example. Attention to the tangibi lity of sound can give a clear demonstration of the interconnectedness of all things. If one stands before a speaker in a loud nightclub one can easily fee l the sound pass through the body. This
awareness of sound can be heightened with attention, so you can feel most of the sound around. Three days ago I was in my hotel room being molested by noise; constant sirens, jackhammers, shithawks and traffic. You can plug your ears a ll you want, the city noise will still stir your marrow. Then sound went beyond being harsh to being horrific, and I found myself being touched by the sounds of a man being beaten to death in the alley. At that moment I doubted my quest for peace of mind. Is Peace of Mind possible here? The last time I was in the country I was literally stunned by a roar of quiet. It was so quiet I felt like my ears had been plugged with jello or something. It was much s impler to deal with my own noise: pulse, breath. ' head hum' etc. There it was birdsong that touched me. Those little guys aren' t whistling, they're singing their lungs out in the pure ecstasy of life unencumbered by thought. They do the same here, in the streets we share with them. They do so assaulted as we are by the same cacophony of noise. Birds, especially songbirds. are my heroes now. They have the power to transmute all the negative vibrations of the city into joy. They prove that there is hope for peace in the world, we just need to listen. By SHAWN MILLAR
MAIN STREET STATION • storytelling &kids activities each week • high quality produce, meat & Cheese • ready-to-eat food & coffee • free grocery delivery by bicycle &bike tune-ups Another venue for artists is the Farmer's Market helo each Sunday, Il am-Jpm, on Carrall Street between Powell and East Cordova. The same conditi ons as on Wednesday - bring your own chair and pieces to sell !
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their work to Thornton Park at Main &Terminal on Wednesdays between 3 & 7pm (every week!) The Farmer's Market has agreed to give space for the sale of art by the a11ist. Bring a couple of pieces of your best work to offer for sale and gather with fellow artists having a fun afternoon. Oppenheimer Park Arts Outreach wi ll be providing the tables. Bring your own lawnchair & come make a few bucks. For more information fo to Oprenheimer Outreach on Dunlevy Street.
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that pendulutn Feeling I've got that pendulum feeling again up & down my chest, if Bipolar was like a rotten molar I could rip it right out but that'd be a mess, sign says next sign says "Welcome to this new order" like an atheist giving vital information in court every work lingers like a back alley odour now perseverance pays if you are lucky minimum wage but luck lingers for fleeting moments at best, grab what you can there are just too many hands longetivity being the ultimate test, like heroes came for a man who took away over 300 lives, awaiting hi s leader's son with a new car (a true story) now if anything gory makes you sick to your soul think of the ones lost over & in LOCKERBIE that deep black night so long ago .. end of story? No. Those who worship war take it out on the innocent& poor, true sadness comes in all shapes and form s of madness one day thi s entire planet will just be one big memorial side-by-side door-to-door, a planet without a plan children with no one to hold their hand right crisis rises over what's fell of land, like the d ispensary of despair, no matter who •·wins·· it will Always pretend to care, so there you have it a world insane if time machines were like ATMs let it reign let it RAIN! & maybe start all over again. just maybe one new baby will grow up to save the world I'll stick to my past the present & future won' t last let's jump on that pendulum for a last whirl whi le earth's new flag is being unfurled, do not forget all the Dead Souls still alive in this world, we have come a long way some will say the wrong way I' ll admit we' ve miles to go so do your part think with both head & heart Ahhh, a fresh new start never felt so good & if we can stop killing our fellow man that would be one heck of a start so let's Stan! Now I' ll be the one in the comer selling paint now if talk minus action =zero then St Minus is my saint of hearts. By ROBERT McGILLIYRA Y
COMMOTION, EMOTION Rigid SkyTrain lines, not petty crimes, lies, deceit, do not admit, defeat political technocratic deceptions defining nothing other than oppression. An impossible stark poli ce state, a status quo of no more thank you's and perpetual slippery slopes. Plutocracy, what is that deal of crass non-descript I just don't get. Muddy the waters, gotta go with the flow, Oh get off my case. I'm gettin ' outta here! Whoever ever said life's a beach - it don' t make much sense to me 'cause I fee l all tied down .. who's gonna set me free ? Confusion reigns in both body and soul. God Save the okay I'll go along, resisting compliance is a confliction of terms because illusions abound sleight of hand crimes against the masses by Olympian fencesitte rs extraordi naire raili ng against swaid masses .. . it's never too late to organise out of the morass of hordes. Let's kick some butts in a literal fi gure of free speech ' cause we' re sick And tired of their lessons- you know the ones they preach. Their hackneyed message is so stale so old. The time is for action. to be intellectually bold, to compete against the big guns, so many faceless gnomes. Get On With the Program: first jettison their time honoured fair play. Discontent is the order of the day we just gotta rise .. are you hearing me for real, exactly what I have to say? This is the drill I think is pretty darn strai ght. I'm a dude on a mission that doesn't remain to be seen. Of course you've heard the saying " Actions speak louder than words." Gotta protest quite loud and quite long fo r our voices to be heard. What more can I say .. repetition can become boring 'cause I kno where I'm at- between a rock and a hard place, yet this is my life at the moment and that is for sure; just one o n a mission with crystal vision that will not be obscured whatsoever in any ROBYN LIVINGSTONE way, shape or fonn.
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1955 My heart was broken By your imitation token Of great love and affection By walking away with my best friend's sister-of-deception
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I tried to drown to get your attention You both walked away with preception
.r dragged myself into the bush Crying myself to sleep in anguish As I awoke covered in mud and leaves That was me throwing rocks On the tent you both heaved. Sue B Kane
Hi, Paul - please make this anonymous - if it's not crap, that is. The house on East 19th just sold for $800,000.00, I read online, and all my dreams flee. Ah, well - that house, where my mother made murals out of mellowed walls, where dark wood met with fiery orange velour furniture, where riotous colour battled stately structure. I've dreamt this house from my childhood all summer, wanting to wrest it from designer beige hands and return it to the cheery chaos of my youth. But someone else owns it now, and will renovate, banishing the fuschias, verrn illions and ochres to memory, repainting it the colour of money Anonymous Hi,
Facilitate English Conversation Classes If you are fluent in English and willing to share your knowledge of Canadian culture, volunteer at the UBC Learning Exchange helping people practice speaking English. The program is 12 weeks. You teach 3 hours per week and attend a 3-hour workshop on Friday afternoons. Mark Smith, UBC LE, 612 Main St; 604-408-5183
This is good. It's well-written, invoking memory, simile, metaphor and humour in each paragraph. - and 'anonymous' it will be. By the way, "crap" is easy to spot- no effort, little thought, flogging one word or idea to a bloody pulp (sometimes in one sentence!} and obvious to almost everyone except the incipient author, who either can't believe anything emanating from their pointy head could be crap or, worse, that they'd ever be caught.
PRT
GREY HAIR
Indigenous in the Belly of th e Beast
Grey Hair, you stand and stare Grey Hair, you may stand anywhere Because you gave your love And all the above. You were truly a father When my own could not bother So now I ask, :· • • • •• Why hide behind this mask? ••• Now you have died And I have truly cried. We spoke to each other As one brother to another, Like a father to a son Not a daddy on the run. ou paid your dues
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And I sing the blues. No-one can ever fill your shoes ... Grey Hair, now I stand and stare. Grey Hair, but am I truly fair?
Stanton J and Friends
"If there is not struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom yet deprecate agitation are men who want crops without plowing up the ground; they want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress." Frederick Douglass, freed slave, abolitionist leader
In 2007 the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand voted against this declaration came as a surprise to many people. these four countries arc seen as pillars of freedom and democracy. In reality. these countries are imperialist settler-states. As oppressor nations the freedom of these countries is the freedom of wolves and their democracy is the democrac) of v. hites in apartheid South Africa. The indigenous of these countries have recently been afforded economic reforms the like of which had been afforded the working classes of these countries more than one hundred years ago. Politically, however, in terms of the colonized status of the indigenous and their legal right to self-determination, they have been subject to constant government attack. In Canada, the federal government is in the process of forcing the indigenous to renounce their Indian nationality and formally incorporate into Canada. In 1973 the federal government initiated a treaty process based on the strictly c ircumscribed Comprehensive Land Claims Settlement Policy. The terms of the treaty process separate Canadian Indians into hundreds of reserve level "first nations'' represented by Ind ian leaders on the payroll of the Department of Indian Affairs. The federal government has entered into treaty making with these leaders requiring them, for payment, to remove their bands from the jurisdiction of the Indian Act and formally incorporate them into Canada on the municipal level. These two requirements of the treaty process contravene Article I 5 of the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights and Article I of the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. T hese two articles of international law state, respectively. that "No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality'' and "All peoples have the right of self-determination." Today. the indigenous of Canada's north including northern Quebec and many bands in the south have already been S\\ indled into signing treaties. The federal government heralds the treat) process as the way to a glorious '·new relationship," and "self-governance.'' In fact, the Canadian government is effecting a policy of bureaucratic ethnic cleansing. Ray Bobb, Seabird Island Band
GET CLEAN! -"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead
Shower up at the Lord's Rain There is a shower facility at Gospel Mission, 327 Carrall Street Oust off Pigeon Park). There are towels, soap, shampoo- the works! & Coffee
Monday 10am-3pm; Tuesday Ladies only 1-4pm Everyone 7 - 8:30am Friday 1Oam- 3pm; Saturday 7 -1 oam lei on parle Francais; Hablamos Espanol
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We acknowledge ihat Carnegie Com~u~ity Centre, and ~is ~letter, are ~ccurring on Coast Salish Territory.
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CFRO
Next issue i s s~ptember
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SUBMISSION DEADLINE Thursday, September 10
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401 M.Un Slrcct, V6A m
THIS NEWSLE'ITER IS A I'UBUCATION OF TB1t
CHANGE OF ADDRESS!!! Mental Health
•CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTREASSOCIA.no" Artides ~ . . . . . ellloldhiolail c-tril.lltM:s ...... .,. . ~
Editor: PauiR Taylor; Cover art by Lisa David Collation & distribution crew: Bill, Liu Lin, Harold, Mary Ann, Miriam, Kelly, Videha, Rolf, Priscillia, Robyn, Nick, Jackie, Matthew, Ida, Nicole, Lisa.
TIM STEVENSON ,..... CITY COUNCILLOR
Action Research Advocacy ~ As of Monday, July 6, our new address will be 163 West Pender Street (it's a storefront at the sidewalk!) ~o ne # 604-689-7938 remains the same.
WANTED
Artworlt ror the C~p N~:sldUF SmaiiU;tralions to~ articles illl1
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poetry •
SER~NGTHECOMMUNITY
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WITH PRIDE
City Hall, 453 W 121b Ave, V5Y 1V4 Phone: 604-873-7247
Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MLA Working for You 1070 - 1641 Commercial Dr, VSL 3Y3
.. i have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and cu_lture for their minds, dignity, equality and justice for the1r spmts. I believe that what self-centred men have tom down, other-centred men can build up.· Dr. Martin Lulhr.r Kinn .lr
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Cover art -YaxiTun size: 17an(6-314") - .. x15an(6') hijL SOOjacl maller relevlrt to issues p_ertailing to lie Downlolln Eastsida preferred, but all work wl be COJISi:lered; Black & Whle priDig my Siza rasariclions must be COIISidefed ft.e..l your piece is D:llarge. il Vt'l be reduc8d andlor aQAII!d ID II; AI artists wl receive aedi for 1hM WOik; Originals wl be reiUmed 1D the aJ1isl after being cqied for pmi:alion; Rernmeralin Camegia '«iJntaer tickets.
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Please Jnab submissioas to: Pulofaylor, Ediltu". CEEDS folks -$60 2009 DONATIONS: Barry M.-$150, Libby D.-$70, Rolf A.-$50, Margaret D.-$40, Jenny K.-$25, Sue K.-$30, Michael C.-$50, Jaya B.·$100, Christopher R.-$180, Mel L.-$25, Greta P.-$25, Leslie S.-$25, Harvey B.-$25, Sheila B.-$20, The Edae -$200, Wilhelmina M.-$30, Anonymous $1500 Anne P.-$50
{This is the ending of a poem entitled Lamenlation for lhe Downtown Easlside by Bud Osborn in his book S igns ofthe Times (art by Richard Tetrault)} people all over have heard my suffering cries but there is no one to comfort me no one to comfort the community of the poor in the Downtown Eastside all my enemies have heard my pleas and anguish but they are satisfied at what they are bringing about so may they experience what is happening to me may their lies and greed and politics and manipulations and 'their hardness of heart and their abandonment of the Downtown Eastside come back to haunt them come back to tear their 'communities' apart come back to drive them t o acts of desperation come back to make them objects of scorn come back upon them to destory their lives with no one to comfort them no one to help them for my pain is immense and my heart is racing and my heart is weary
T HIS PO£M WAS WR ITTEN' IN 1997 W li EN TilE SI T UATION I N THE
DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE WAS LITERALLY A S HORRIFIC A S DESCRIBED. A S A DIRECTOR ON T BE VANCOUVER /RI CHM OND H EALT H IIOARD, I
WAS AS AILE, IN 1997, AGAINST BUREAUCRATIC OPPOSITION , TO I-IA\'E A ..lOTION PASSED DECLARING VANCOUVEa'S FTRST • EVER PUBLIC HEALTH ! ME I.CENCY, BECAUSE Of THE PANDE MICS AND OVUDOS£ DEATHS
lf:SIECINC TH E DOWNTOW~ EASTSIDE.
51NCE THEN, RESIDENTS Of' TH £ DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE AND PEOPLf. I N VANCOUV ER AND ELSEW HERE HAVE INOE!.D RESPONDED TO INIIUMAN SU FFERING WITH CONCRETE INITIATIVES INTENDED TO R£UEV! IT. T HOUGH M ANY SATTLES ARE YJ:.T TO BE FOUCIIT, T H E PRESERVATION AND STR£NGTHf:NINC OF A RARE AND IMMENSELY IMPORTANT COMMUNITY OF f.CONOMICALLY IMPOV ERISHED, BRUTALLY AFFLICTED AND EXTRAORDINARILY CREATIVE AND COMM ITTED HUMAN 8£JNC,, IS MUCH CLOSER T O ENDURING
OUOTE 1ft A BOX There is a quotation by Plato that will fit the diagram below. The letters in each column will go into the boxes immediately below but not necessarily in the order given. A black box indicates the end of the w ord . What is the quote?
TitAN IT APPEA RED
8 YEARS ACO
WHILE THE POEM SPECIFICALLY NAMES THE DOWNTOW N EASTSIDE,
T Ut CI RCUMSTANCES EXPRESSED PREVA I L THROUGHOUT T H E WORLD, AND WILL I NTENstrY UNUSS T H E N£0-LJBEIAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC
IDEOLOGY AND JT S IN STITUTIONS, SO RU INOUS OF ALL T HAT IS HUMA N AND NATURAL, IS TURNED UPSIOE·DOW,.. TO FULLY 'RESPOND TO T HE NI!EDL US SUFFE RING AND DESTRUCTION OF AUTHENTIC COMMUNITY THIS SYSTEM PRODUCES. -BUD
CAMP QUADRA -PRE MEETING
Colleen's Corner
Volun teer Progr a m I Seniors Progr a m Fa ll Ca mp *Description of new camp *Selection process *Fun. Games and recreational ideas * Food preferences, allergic concerns • When: T h ursday, September 3 • Where : Ca rnegie T heatre • Time: 10 a m For the first time, we are travelling to the exotic shores ofGowlland I !arbour on Quadra Island. Pack your bags and join the fun. We are holding ONE CAMP PRE MEETING ONLY and signing up for camp at the same time. Anyone interested in coming to Gamb ier Island MUST attend this one meeting.
meeting (not by staff) ALL VOLUNTEERS WELCOME! Your voice is needed and appreciated. 3. VOLUNTEER DINNER - Ca rnegie T hea tre Wednesday, September I 6 at 4:30 Sharp! Your contribution and hard work is appreciated by the many people who benefit by your services. Let the us serve you! Skill testing questions for mystery prizes. Please pick up your ticket from the Volunteer Program Office
2. Volunteer Committee Meeting
Monday, September 7--- Your own movie choice Sign up with Colleen in the Voluntee r Program Office. Meet at Noon at In fo Desk.
Wednesday, September 9 at I pm in Classroom I I Volunteer of the Month is chosen by those at the
Volunteers of th e Month for August: Lou Vodnak., 2"~FI Receptionist/Computer Lab Bob Currie, Learning Centre Volunteer Appreciation Movie with Colleen Cinemark Tinseltown .
To Colleen Gerrie
You!re Very SpeciaC.
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We meetfew·peopCe with a stniCe ~ wann as a h119 and a Cove that never sto:!Js !Jivitl£1. But once in a wfiiCe someone standS.out from the crowd to remind us of what reatiy ma~s in fife. When we're 6Cessed an4 enridied 6y a person fike this, we search frn· a w~ to s~ ((You.'re sp ecia£ to me . . .'' And that's what I'm S~fl9 to you ... Submitted AnonymouslY