JUNE 1, 2010

Monstrous criminality .. . thinking of doing a series of articles on the acts

of monstrous criminality being perpetrated on the people living here, but where to star/ ...

These are illusions of popular history which a successful religion must promote: Evil men never prosper; only the brave deserve the fair; honesty is the best policy; actions speak louder than words; vinue always triumphs; a good deed is its own reward; any bad human can be reformed; religious talismans protect one from demon possession; only females understand the ancient mysteries; the rich are doomed ro unhappiness . . .

-From the Instruction Manual: Missionaria Protectiva

Campbell and cronies are the first targets but only because they are public figures. Even an investiga­tive reporter, with all the resources available to ~et past the veneer of respectability tailored to the n' degree by spin-doctors and professional image consultants, must focus on one event/scandal/crime

I to have any hope of the results leading to charges laid and prosecution beginning. TV would have us believe it is then a matter of law and what can be proven in court, but that's what lawyers are for ­unless or especially if the defendant is very rich. Gordon Campbel l, playing the role of Premier, is a front man for people who can't be identified beyond a name and what visible wealth can be attached to them. Examples include the murky membership of the Fraser Institute, the Business Council on Nation­al Jssues,called something else now but the same collection of the owners and CEO's of the 150 richest and most powerful corporations in Canada.

Apparently the slash & bum M.O. of the current government committed on all manner of decent soc­ial and cultural endeavours is (mostly) legal, even though common sense shines a stark light on such ugly, immoral criminality. Taking the billions cut from education (to better advance private, for-profit schools); from the healthcare system (to make the illusion of its 'degeneration ' and ' impotence in he face of reality' leave private, for-profit medical businesses the only alternative); from all social programs and local initiatives to grind down impov­erished and low-income people ... while paying for all these cool toys! *a much-needed 2"d Convention Centre cost us over

$850 million, twice the initial budget; *the roof for BC Place, starting at $460 million (the

estimate before it's built. .. ); *a great big dam for over $2 billion and the power

generated sent to the States for no more than Canadi­ans pay wholesale (NAFTA & TILMA & ... ); *making trains [BC Rail] someone's personal property, making hydroelectric power make billions for somebody instead of cheap for everyone, giving exclusive rights to buddies to take over about 40 rivers emptying on the west coast and build dams wherever they want (we get salmon farms??!); giv­ing bi llionaires virtually unfettered access to the prime real estate in the Lower Mainland so social housing can be stopped cold ...

until we finally realize that cash is the greatest toy of all and getting an unlimited amount in your grubby hands is the summum bonum oflife Amen!! (Throw in Thank You Jesus if that' ll get you another buck .. )

~-~-

Is this getting to read like a rant? Naw. It's the stuff that sticks in almost everybody's craw. It's not a dif­ference of politics .. another kindly social experiment ... it's anti-democratic, anti-social and amoral. but griping about all these crimes doesn' t change much.

What does promote change is the reality of alterna­tive media, standing tall and saying what you feel is right. Media is the plural of medium, and a medium is any way of communicating - be it visual, verbal, in pictures, cartoons or words.

Each of us is strong in one or more of these media and each of us gets incensed when the medium we particularly like to use is misused or blatantly, crim­inally taken over or away.

It's absoOiutely amazing how similar most people's thinking on basic decency is, how common the des­ire to have the world be just, but part of the funda­mentals of the ruling oligarchy is to constantly dis­courage, denounce and degrade any efforts in those directions to establish simple courtesies.

Remember ' monkey see, monkey do'? Part of each gross distortion and lie perpetrated through corpor­ate media is accompanied by a working coterie of people being paid to have most people believe the bogus letters-to-the-editor, call-in radio rants, sprea­ding rumours and stereotypes are reflective of almost everybody else ... the truth is the first few of any in the direction ofbullshit are put together over hours of discussions by professional spin-doctors. After sly release, such crap takes on a life of its own.

Look at everything with the idea of"Why is this being done?" Keep your Spirit strong by staying straight with yourself, and get together with like­minded allies.

We cannot but win. By PAULR TAYLOR

! UBC LAW STUDENTS I .. ~~ LEGAL ADVICE CLINIC - ------'

Starting Monday. M ay 24 Ends Thursday. August 19

Drop - In Mondays & Thursdays 9- 5pm

Tu esdays 1 - 9pm

3"' Floor -Art Gallery

CCCAAGM 3 The Carnegie Community Association A1mual Gen­eral Meeting will be held on Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 at 5:30pm in the Theatre. Voting for members of the Board of Directors will take place. Registration is from 5:00 to 5:30 pm. In order to vote, one must have a <;amegie membership card purchased on or before Nl'ay20, 20 10. \

· At the May 6th Board of Directors' Meeting: The following members were nominated.

Ben Rampre, Colleen Carroll, *Craig Hathaway, Ge­na Thompson, James Pau, Lisa David. Matthew Mat­thew, Pat McSherry, Phoenix Winter, Prisci llia Tail, *Robert Milton, Scott Gentes, *Sandra Pronteau, James Oikle, Diane Tobin, Stephen Lytton, Robyn Livingstone, J\nn Livingston, Magnolia Villalobos, Douglas Dunn, Paul Taylor, Darlene Joe, *Adrienne Macallum *=Not in attendance but gave written notice that they would stand for nomination

a) The fo llowing declined to stand for nomination: Matthew Matthew, Stephen Lytton, Robyn Living­stone, Paul Taylor c) The following 18 nominees are the candidates run­ning for the CCCA Board of Direc tors elections at the June 3, 2010 Annual General Meeting: Ben Ramprc, Colleen Carroll, Craig llathaway, Gena Thompson, James Pau, Lisa David, Pat McSherry, Phoenix Winter, Priscillia Tail, Adrienne Macallum, Scott Gentes, Sandra Pronteau, James Oikle, Diane Tobin, Ann Livingston, Magnolia Villalobos, Douglas Dunn, Darlene Joe

[Robert Milton's nomination is void, as his member­ship was not purchased at least 60 days prior to the election.]

V ANDU EVENINGS The Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users facility at 380 E Hastings is now operating lOam-midnight

every day. Harm Reduction Supplies, Toilets, Phone, Computers,

Peer Support, Referrals, coffee and a safe place to hang out.

604-683-6061 I www.vandu.org

Published On Wed May 12 20 10 By Carol Goar. Toronto Star Columnist

1t would take a minor miracle for Parliament to pass a private member's bill call ing for "secure, adequate and affordable housing for Canadians."But faith, hope and the prospect of a miracle are what sustain the unions, churches. municipalities, com­munity groups, social agencies and anti-poverty activists who have been fighting for a national hous­ing strategy for 20 years. The sponsor of Bill C-304, Vancouver New De­

mocrat Libby Davies, has beaten the odds so far. Last fall , her private me mber's bill was one of a handful se lected for parliamentary debate. It won approval in principle in the I louse of Commons and was referred to an all-party committee for detailed study. But it died on the order paper when Prime Minister Stephen Harper prorogued Parliament. Davies revived it when the I louse reopened in

March. The human resources committee (made up of six Conservatives, three Liberals, two members of the Bloc Quebecois and one New Democrat) re­

sumed its study. Three weeks later, it returned the bill to the House o f Commo ns with a few amend­ments. Then the Vancouver MP's luck ran out. The gov­

ernment woke from its slumber and challenged one of the committee's amendments. ( It would have al­lowed Quebec to opt out and adopt a parallel hous­ing strategy). The Speaker of the I louse of Com­mons, Peter Milliken, agreed the measure went be­yond the comminec's jurisdiction.That leaves Da­vies in a quandary. Without the opt-out provision, the Bloc Quebecois won't support the legislation. And without its 48 votes, her bill has little chance of becoming law.

But the five-term New Democrat isn't admitting defeat. "The housing crisis is one of the core reasons I ran for Parliament," she says. "It had fallen off the political agenda."

She is now mounting a three-pronged effort to save her bill: * She is attempting to delay the vote on her bill.

hopes to buy time by a llowing other M Ps with pri­vate bills to move ahead of her on the order paper. • She is encouraging individuals and organizations that believe affordable housing is a basic right to contact their M P. (Many of her supporters need no urg ing. Groups such as Campaign 2000, the Salva­tion Army and the Counc il of Canadians with Dis­abi lities have already launched email blitzes.) * And she's approach ing as many MPs as she can - urban Conservatives in particular- about the hous­ing needs of the ir constituents.

Will it work? It's a long shot, but anything can happen in a minor­

ity Parliament. The biggest risk is that the Conserva­t i~es wi ll engineer a quick vote on Bill C-304. They tned last Wednesday but failed because too few MPs were in the House. The longer-term danger is that Davies won't be able to muster the votes she needs.

But she docs have a few bargaining chips. More than 50 groups have endorsed her bill. And they're not all left-wing. They incl ude the Conservative­fr iendly Evangelical Federation of Canada. She also has the support of four major social action groups in Que­bec, wh ich can put pressure on the Bloc. And there is sti ll a possibility (albeit remote) that the public will weigh in .

Homelessness is no longer a big city issue. Virtu­a lly every municipality has an Out of the Cold pro­gram. No one feels as immune to misfortune as they dtd before the recess ion.

Canada needed a national housing strategy in 1990 when aspiring prime minister Paul Martin declared: "The housing crisis is growing at an alarming rate and the government s its there and does nothing."

He could have acted, but didn't. Harper could have acted, but hasn't. T he sole remaining hope is that Parliament will rise to the challenge with a rare act of leadership.

Let up, will ya'?

No pleasure in taunting dumb animals no gain taping scotchtape to the paws o f kittens just to watch the poor creature go berserk no use in writing malicious comments on people who' llnever get the point don't te ll 'em urinal cakes make the best darn deodorants, just stick 'em under your arms n' smell good almost forever don't be upset when they take your advice and telling them cockroaches sleep deep inside their ears, seeing them go gray as they fidget and fuss with the ir ears long after you saunter off, chuckling sadistically to overcome hatred and intolerance learning to pity if not empathsize, seeing that those you hate are just as vulnerable and scared as we all are not liking someone is no cause for cruelty the dumb animal you just leave alone, maybe may be you, one day, when you're not

Carnegie Monthly De-Clutter Discussion

Tall~, share experience, learn

The last Sunday in Junc(27), July(25) & August(29) at

6:30pm in C lassroom II . Dinner 5-6:30 ($3) 2"d

floor.

Facilitator: Jngrid Socfl ting

In favour of Container Housing: Do we already have a so lution to the homeless sit­

uatio n? It appears that we do. Container housing would appear to be a low cost so lution for home­lessness across Canada. on your A game AI Containers are a familiar s ite on the waterfronts of

.,---------- ----------'7--- - - .r----. our major Canadian cities. They fill our port rail

OIL KILLS ~IIERYTI'fiNGI

60 OR 70,000 sA A A E L~S:.____.--&:"'-.... A DA

yards. We have many used containers and there arc small companies building new containers.

Container housing has been successfully done in places like Salt Lake C ity, London, and Amsterdam. Because less steel, concrete and wood is used in container housing construction, costs are signifi­cantly lower than regu lar construction.

Monte Paulsen at The Tyee.ca, a B.C. based online newspaper, in a series of articles in April 20 I 0 has brought to the attention of the public the issue of container housing. T hese articles are a ll currently available online. One of the articles is entitled- "Homeless Hous­illglor Less: Proposals to build free or low-cost homeless housing said to be 'stalled' by the Prov­ince". The article was also issued in print in the April 20 I 0 Megaphone magazine.

Vancouver's Mayor Gregor Robertson in a recent Asian Pacific Post article, May 6-12th 20 I 0 issue, stated: "Shelters are by no means the answer to get­ting people ofT the streets, and as such, I and City Council are continuing to look fo r longer term solu­tions to house the homeless."

To this end, Mr. Mayor I would like you to consid­er container housing as a possib le solution to end home less ness in Vancouver, and across Canada.

Don Larson

WlfH JUST $61o.ooA MONTH INCoME ASSISTANCE AND NO EARNING- EXEMPTIONS, GeT A HAIRCUT

AND GET A REAL JOB ... ?

To displace the state

Tent Village 201 v I s it by a sacred fire People bundle with Unceeded intentions To displace the state Reclaim the land No buts in the fi re No cops on the lot Conversations burst open Critical reflections of yesterday's events Radical intentions for tomorrow's actions Today my city is politicized Yet we are all cooped up like chickens without shelter. Shelter that the city won't provide So we reclaim concord, VANOC, COY, province ofBC. Searching for the g rai n that is rightfully ours Only to be offered cages with grubs And to be g rateful Never have I met a person who is g rateful to be caged Warehoused, like stoked pi lied expired inventory s itting on waitlists for stores that don't exist. Only to be displaced once more. I've met many willing to sacrifice, more than they already have to only settle for less. This is not justice, just you just me just us. The situation is tense but there is no tension. They can but will not touch us. Face to face with riot cops, road blocks, cop shops. VPD housing reps, ajuxtaposion ifl've ever heard one. We are untouchable because we are right. llarassed by rent-a-cops making the same min imum wage we are trying to improve upon. Working poor pitted against the poor, controlled by the state, and the rich, the state, are the r ich and v ice versa. They are one, yet we are still so divided. Together united, yet often defeated. I still refuse to question the validity of our actions. Cut locks create social change, of a sort. If SRO's are, and different than the street. Most would argue worse. Social change for the worst. Sometimes I question what are we fighting for? But in these moments in this vi ll age surrounded by the fascis t sea o f red and white I understand. Community, resistance, hope, strength, love, is what we are fighting for. And this we have achieved.

Lauren Gill

Carnegie Theatre Workshop

Upcoming classes!

Saturdays: May 29, June 5, 12, 19, 26

l-2:30pm: Scenes, Monologues 2:45pm-4: Theatre games, Improv

Led by Teresa Vandertuin For more info call 604-255-940 1

email: thirteenofhearts@hotmail.com

WHO ARE WE? Well that's society for ya waiting for you to put your coat over a puddle of urineade .. this is neither the time4 nor place to end this wastebasket day, too much conclusion jumping/collusion hunting/fist pumping/ bib le thumping tower jumping, enough Forrest Gumping ... come back to the fire & pray; Hey, look, Charcoal Barbie and l lomeless Ken are the hottest sickness since god sold tickets to his son's execution bow your head, amen .. like the 13'" wheel on a 12-man job 9 Ius cleaning porta-potties & didn ' t make a cent; does this society love me or what ! earn after taking their 36 per cent ... Too many stormtroopers can hardly wait for stron­garming bloopers a larmingly ignored by those who've seen this before like the man picking his teeth up offthe noor - if there's anything we can do here's our card next time maybe the entire family as ya look at it why it's from Acme Atrocity Mortuary, very next week you get a really coo l calendar & of course their fee; some hide behind their brilliance others it's their resilience all set aside fo r your soci­ety- like product - liability claims. I low much of everything gone wrong are you to blame .. we are the pawns in this celebration of shame, peop le to the left the rest to the right, time to devour the hand that feeds as everyone takes a bite: Now there's 3 words everyone hates to hear - Failure To Appear- words no one wants to hear. Welfare & cops don' t like you, judges hate to wait & make examples ofyou they claim anger & anguish build character (if you

think this is fiction I've a couple of unburned bridges to sell you) society has branded.you a FILLER, much worse than Killer, then claim their hands are tied; the less they see of you & me is the Highlite of today I know I'm feeling all r ight al­though that may be a lie, when you try to fit in that's when they will come fir st the grief counsellors .. re­lief-fund plunderers .. 3'd-hand c lose encounters .. Kill & Wound thugfest bouncers .. Third World eve­rythin ' worth anythin' handlers .. rich screwing richer play-by-play announcers .. all nite sweat shop speed counters .. pawnshop blunders .. the ever-popular Afghanicide human blood fountains & the blood/water taps from drought-stricken mountains; let's get it on society is counting on you to scrape those peaceful but sick thoughts from the bottom of your mind, these are the days when you ' ve lost your purpose but again so has time; society sees what it wants to see again & again thanx to future toys being drenched in blood being all the rage (could rage be next on the extensive Obsolete page, right aft-er rewind, then stories with happy endings will be strict ly prohibited; I sense a new generation of Rage, scary thoughts for those already caught in real or imaginery cages, now the sun is out giving away free skin cancer but what about answers?? as another chorus line of people are shouting my name here we go again as a nock of empty people rush by to save this day as a scavenger behind me reminds me my memory is turning grey ... As for this g lori­ous society it's always Look the Other Way Day with compassion so thin they can' t even give it away oh well for those who read this & for those who didn' t no worries, good day!

By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY

Celebrate National Aboriginal Day in Oppenheimer Park

Four days! Friday-Monday, June 18-21 st

Theme: "Healing"

Performances, a Kids Day, Pow Wow, Teepee Storytelling & more!

Info: Marlene George (604) 665-3005

Children of War

Cultural Genocide Guns and Bombs When it's all over therein lies the bastards the seed of sexual orgies five thousand children Black men and white English offsprings Shipped to America from England after the World War deemed too embarrassing to England Instrument of Oppression News frOtn the LibrarY I lis-story - ller-story. Religion and State

Create enmity between the convert Ayisha and the ones who reject,

in the name of false prophets. Perpetuate and Impose Divide and conquer Chaos ensues, gender's confused, drugs or pr ison; c ultural amnesia; Legalize bribery,

Street Sketches Normalize corruption, Brotherhoods of pedophi lia ...

Mainstreet ing ma) hem Transmute yourselves Endearing, enthra lling to wakened souls Back alley, theatre ~ames, looking for outward approval, Both fun and appallmg Your empi re is naked. But who's keeping score \. 1:' .

with a timepiece, of no end: ' orees that destroy a nat ton.

It is, after all, entertainment Ayisha that leaves you yearning fo r more I can't get all the messages that are being transmitted to me I just wanna take it all in Que sera sera, whatever it may be Do you stop to observe all of this, pleasure and pain, Whether under the sun, Whether through driving rain Do you know what you're missing that is so entertaining? Just go and see for yourself: Pick a day .. I'm sure you ' ll agree .. What 's first and fo remost in my mind- if you permit me to say­I can't think of a better, on where to live, 'cause I wanna stay.

Robyn Livi ngstone

New Books Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall packed up c lothes, his notebook and a pen one November day to go and live in·Tent City in Toronto. Down to This: Squclfor and Splendour in a Big-City Slwntytown (362.5) tells stories of birth. suicide, brawls, binges, and e loquence as one of"the D irty Thirty, the best bunch of derelicts in town ."

What does a writer do when a loved one dies? If The lfeart Does Break: Canadian Writers on Grief tmd Mouming ( 155.93) is anything to go by, they write amazing stories. Linda MeN ull rages against the loss of seven miscarried children, and concludes, ''I know that anger saved me and it continues to do so.' ' Hiromi Goto, who lost her grandmother and father in quick succession, observes that the level of pain is almost absurd. Marni Jackson and her mother run around trying to find a suitable container for her fathe r's '·cremains." And Paul Quarrington tells of how, as a teenager cop ing with his mother's death, a lcohol became a second bloodstream, doing the emotional work for him.

Where is Recovery Point? Can you fi nd Talunk­wan Island on a map? What does Tsusiat mean in the Ditidaht First Nations language? Learn about BC's weird and wonderful place names in Tile En­cyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names (9 1 0.3), in­c luding original Aborigina l names (some of which have been recently re-i nstated , places named after early exp lorers, and places named after dead white guys who never made it to our neck of the woods.

What is loneliness? Emily White, a lawyer who suffers from chronic loneliness, investigates the sci­ence of loneliness, challenges its stigma, and tells of lonely people's experiences in Lonely: Leaming to Live with Solitude ( 155 .92).

Beth, your librarian.

Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) Newsletter

Read more at: www.ccapvancouver.wordpress.com June I , 2010

VANDU organized march to raise welfare rates & stop cuts

This is the speech that Jean from CCAP gave to the crowd that assembled to stop the welfare cuts. Jean called for higher welfare rates. The other 2 demands of the march were stop the welfare cuts to people with Disabilities and do not cut people off welfare for Warrants.

Hi everyone. ['m Jean and I work at CCAP and also for a coalition called raise the rates that wants the province to raise welfare rates and minimum wage.

We all know why welfare has to go up. Because its not enough to eat and pay the rent. It's either /or if you're trying to subsist on $610 a month. Plus there is lots of medical evidence that poor Canadians die younger and have more years of disability than high income Canadians.

But the government always says, we don't have the money to pay for increases. We have some suggestions for where they could get the money.

The richest 1% of Canadians pay less tax as a portion of their income than the

poorest 1 0%. Our suggestion: Raise the taxes of the richest 1%.

The 1 00 highest paid CEOs in Canada got paid about $10.5 million each in (Continued on page 2)

(Continued from page I) 2007-1400 times what a person on welfare gets: Raise their taxes!

The richest 10% of BC families earn families: Raise their taxes!

Raising welfare rates, minimum wages, disability and pensions would help low income people a lot. But if governm ent does it by raising taxes for the wealthy, it would help everyone by making our society more equaL Unequal societies have more social problems. I'm going to read you a list. Listen carefully. These are all social problems that are worse in unequal countries than they are in more equal countries: life expectancy, homicide, drug abuse, child well-being,

2

levels of trust, community involvement, mental illness, teenage birth rates, children·s math and literacy scores, the % of the population in prison, racism, sexism, homophobia and voter turnout.

How do you disguise the fact that the rich are getting richer while their taxes fall? Attack the poorest of course. Cut benefits for people with disabilities.

Cut off people with warrants completely.

Make them homeless. Make people who have nothing pay back alleged ministry overpayments. Maybe if the public is focusing on trashing the poor they won't notice that the rich are getting richer and paying even less taxes.

CCAP delivers message to city hall for National Housing Bill

As you may know MP Libby Davies put forward a private members bill called C-304 for a National Housing Strategy in Canada. Amazingly, it is still alive. Councillor Woodsworth from COPE put a motion forward to support this bill and to make an emergency motion to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Vision Councillors voted against the emergency motion but supported the call to support C-304. Wendy from CCAP didn't get a chance to speak to these motions but passed this speech on before the debate:

Hi. CCAP is strongly in favour of the National Housing Bill and encourage you to send letters to all MP's to demonstrate your support.

As many of you know CCAP has been working for 2 years, consulting with 1200 people about what kind of future they want for the DTES. Our final vision report will be printed next month. Our visioning work told us that residents overwhelmingly want and desperately need more low-income

3

housing-housing for singles, couples, families with children, supportive housing, independent living housing, housing for Aboriginal people and for seniors and also for about 700 people in our community who were homeless in 2008. We have about 60 CCAP volunteers--- some of them are homeless and living at First United and the Central Shelter so we know intimately how badly shelter is needed. Many of our volunteers and many of

Mass rally at Oppenheimer Park in 1930's against forced work camps.

we with in our visioning live in decrepit SROs wltich need to be replaced, even the government owned ones. .

At CCAP we see and hear every day about people whose rents in SROs has increased, forcing them to find a cheaper place which is more or less non -existent. Perhaps this is why homelessness increased in 2010 according to the city' s count. This is happening especially near W oodwards (Continued on page 4)

(Continued from page 3) as that development pushes up land prices and rents in the area surrounding it­with ripple effects that are displacing people and the good things that low income people like about their DTES: the lack of judgment, avai lability of cheap and free food and necessities, closeness of things that are needed, sense of community, etc.

Low income DTES residents cannot compete with developers. Already new condos in our community are outpacing new social housing by 3: 1 . If Libby's bill passes and the federal government brings in a National Housing Plan, it will give low income people in the DTES the ability to compete for the housing that we desperately need. We have some sites all picked out that the city could contribute: the library, the cop shop, above the 4 comers, 58 W. Hastings. With federal money we could actually build housing and the pace of development in the DTES could be

'\11 a. 'I <9ff '11\a.in I

www.frtthltnwt.t lllut.rul••·' .. Jotuf Mtniinr • Scott M.Jfin

4

balanced in favour of the low income people who really need housing and their community.

So we urge you to pass this motion and take all the steps to lobby for it that you can. including writing to BLOC and Conservative MPs and taking it to the UBCM and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Minister Coleman needs to be pressured to openly support this bill as well. You could help us do that too. Thanks.

r

Shocking tax and income facts that may be useful

Jean from CCAP came across these 4 tax facts in the Canadian Centre Policy Alternatives Monitor, May 2010. I've memorized a few of the super shocking ones to use in arguments with my dear relatives who think they, as working people, can't afford to pay more taxes to cover the cost of social housing. Do you get in these binds too and need help putting things in perspective?

TAX FACTS

(1) Between 1995 and 2005 tax cuts reduced Canadian government revenue capacity by $50 billion per year.

(2) The Harper government reduced federal revenue by an additional $34 billion in 2009-10 alone.

(3) The 20 l 0 Harper budget promised more c·orporate tax cuts that will cost $20 billion over the next 5 years.

( 4) The richest 1% of Canadians now pay less tax as a portion of their income than the poorest 10%.

Jean also researched these facts about Canadian inequality that we can use to push for higher welfare rates.

5

INEQUALITY FACTS

1. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer: In 2005 the total net worth of Canadians was almost $5 trillion, a 42% increase from 1999. In spite of the over all increase in wealth over that period, the poorest 20% of Canadians lost over 70% of their wealth. The wealthiest fifth gained over 43%.

Source: Statistics Canada. Assets debts and net worth in 2005, Catalogue no. 13F0026MIE.

2. There is a huge gap in wealth between the richest and poorest Canadians: In 2005, the average (Continued on page 6)

(Continued from page 5) net worth of the poorest 20% of Canadians was minus $2,400. They are in debt. The average net worth of the richest fifth was $1.264.200.

Source: Statistics Canada, Assets debts and net worth in 2005, Catalogue no. /3F0026MIE.

3. Inequality in Canada is growing faster than in other countries. Inequality between rich and poor in Canada has grown more than in any other OECD country in the last decade except for Germany.

Source: http://www.nwac-hq. org/en/documents/Campaign20002009Nati onaiReportCardpd{

4. Vancouver is more unequal that other Canadian cities: Of24 cities in Canada, Vancouver has the largest and fastest growing income gap between rich and poor.

Source: Mending Canada's frayed social safety net: The role ofnwnicipal governments (http://www. fcm.calenglishNiew.asp?mp= I & x=1297)

5. Low income means shorter lives: High income Canadians have I 0 more healthy years of life than low income Canadians.

Source: Income disparities in health-adjusted live expectancy for Canadian adults, 1991-200 I by Cameron N. Mcintosh, Philippe

6

Fines, Russell Wilkins and Michael C. Wolfton, Statistics Canada, November, 2009.

6. The richest of the rich get the biggest increase: Between 1982 and 1992, the richest 5% of Canadians took about 21% of Canada's total income. Then between 1992 and 2004, they took 25.3%, a 4.3% increase in the share of all income earned in Canada.

It gets worse: Over 90% of the gain in the income share of the richest 5% went to the richest 1 %, and half of that went to the richest .I%.

Source: Hugh Mackenzie, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: http:/Jwww.policyalternatives.ca/publication slcommentary/rich-are-getting-richer­%£29/o80%9 3-and-we%E29/o80%99re-a/l­helping

7. Government has reduced taxes for the richest of the rich. The average effective tax rate for about 95% of Canadians fell by about 1% between 1992 and 2004. But the effective tax rate for the richest 5% fell by about twice as much. And the effective tax rate for the (Cont page 7)

(Continued from page 6) richest of the rich, the top .01 % fell by 11%.

Source: Hugh Macken::ie, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: http://www.pol icyalternatives. calpubl ication s/commentary/rich-are-getting-richer­%£2%80%93-and-we%E2'Yo80%99re-all­helping

8. The richest 10% of BC families earn more than the entire poorest half of families.

Source: http://www.policyalternatives.ca!sites·defaul tljilesluploads/pub/ications/BC Office Pubs /be_ 2009/CCP A _growing_gap Jull _report.p df

9. CEOs really pig out: Canada's highest paid 100

Chief Executive Officers earn the average Canadian wage of $40,237 by 9:04AM on January 2nd. The top 50 CEOs took home 85 times the average pay of workers in 1995. In 2007 they took home 398 times the average pay. The I 00 highest paid CEOs of Canadian publicly traded corporations received an average of $10,408,054 in total compensation in 2007 . A single person on welfare in

7

BC received a maximum of $7320 in 2007.

Sources: http://www.pol icyalternatives. ca/sites/de(aultl( ileslup/oads/pub/ications/National Office Pu bs/2008/Banner Year For CEOs.pd( Your Welfare Rights. Legal Services Society. Vancouver. February, 20 I 0.

10. Unequal societies have more social problems. Life expectancy, homicide rates, drug abuse, child well-being, levels of trust, involvement in community life, mental illness, teenage birth rates, children's math and literacy scores, the proportion of the population in prison are all worse in rich countries that are unequal than they are in countries with more equal ity.

What's vital in revitalization? Living next to a millionaire wouldn't do

anything to improve his life. That's what Rene Belanger told a crowd of about 200 at a UBC Dialogues meeting about "revitalization" of the DTES (DTES). "It would just make me jealous," said Belanger.

The discussion took place on May 27 at 319 Main St. Belanger spoke after a panel of four, chaired by Jim Green, spoke about "revitalization" issues in the DTES. The city calls its policy about the DTES "revitalization without displacement."

"Revitalization can be dangerous," according to David Ley. Ley was one of the panelists. He is a geography professor at UBC. Revitalization "implies that the community is lifeless; that it needs total transformation," he said. "It's a way to marginalize voices of people ... .It's like calling a place a slum so you can tear it down."

Green quoted one author who called the DTES the centre of culture in Vancouver and Robson St. the centre of"lame" culture.

Several speakers agreed that the new SFU at Woodwards would contribute to

(..\llllfGif m·· ACTIO If

PI'OJECT

displacing low-income residents. "Landlords prefer students to people with addictions," said Liz Evans of the Portland Hotel Society.

All the speakers agreed that the federal government should fund a national housing program to build more social housing.

"We need a pause in condo development so low-income people can compete with developers," said Wendy Pedersen of the Carnegie Community Action Project.

At the end of the event, people collected the pen on their seat, and the notebook, munched on a fancy hors-d' oeuvre, and had a drink.

The site of the event, 319 Main St., is one of the places in the DTES where developers want to build more condos. - JS

CCAP does community based research and works on social housing, income and gentrification issues. We organize residents to have a voice in planning for the future of the area.

Van city Sup?ort for this project does not necessarily

imply Vancity's endorsement of the findings or contents of this report."

On Oct 3 I st, United We Can initiated the building of the first SOLE food farm located next to the As-• r tona Hotel at the corner of Hastings and Hawks Avenue. Since October, 150 planters have been built, turning the previously underused parking lot into a space for growing healthy food. SOLEfood is unlike other community gardens seen throughout Vancouver in that it operates as a business and does not have volunteers or community plots. Like United We Can's other enterprises, the farm is a place that provides training and job opportunities for DTES community members to improve financial security and therefore, food security. The farmers currently working at the farm also see it as a place for self-growth, while learning about urban agricul­ture as they build, plant, harvest and maintain the farm.

For the first 1-2 years the food grown at the farm will be sold to restaurants and at Farmers Markets to enable employment for community members. A portion will also be sold to Potluck Cafe at whole­sale cost fo r their community meal programs. As the farm reaches financial sustainability, we will be de­veloping programs and strategies that provide food to DTES community me mbers directly. The farmers have prepared and planted some free lettuce and swiss chard on a sma ll plot just outside the gate on the North-East corner of the farm for community

members. There are plans to reserve at least one planter for more. As some may have noticed. we have increased the height of the fence along llast­ings and repaired the fence along the alleyway for increased security. Although we do not like the idea of the gates, it is because the farm is operating as a business, and the food and too ls that allow us to provide employment for the community must be protected. The farm is an inclusive community space that will be open from dawn till dusk as the farmers are on site. Many people passing by have already stopped by to talk to the farmers. The DTES Neighbourhood House will be organ izing regular tours of the SOLE­food farm to learn about farming in the city and the different aspects of growing food. Their next visit will be Friday, June 4th, and Friday. Ju ne 18th. If you are interested in joining the next group contact the Neighbourhood House at 573 East ll astings Street (at Princess Avenue). lf you would like to organize your own group, feel free to contact us in person at United We Can at 39 East Hastings, or by phone at 604-68 1-000 I. If you're in the area, you are also welcome to drop by and take a stroll through the farm. One of our farmers would be happy to talk to you.

Submitted by Doris

UNDER CORPORATE RULE: T he Big Business Takeover of Canada

By Ed Finn Scapegoating the Poor Observing the barrage o f anger, resentment and hate

now being hurled against people on welfare, I'm reminded of the old African proverb: "As the wa­terhole gets smaller, the animals get meaner."

As the basic resources diminish, in other words, so does the willingness to share. So do the qualities of tolerance and neighbourliness. The sense of com­munity is replaced by an ugly survival-of-the-fittest mentality.

There is, however, a big difTerence between what happens at a shrinking waterhole in Afr ica and what happens in Canada when jobs disappear, incomes stagnate, and government services are cut back. The waterhole gets smaller because there's a drought. It's a natural and unavoidable phenomenon. In Canada, however, the necessities of life for the weakest among us are being deliberately and needlessly withdrawn.

Our welfare "waterhole" is being siphoned away, its contems diverted from the pockets of the poor into the stock portfolios of the rich. There is no shortage of money in Canada. Business and bank profits soar to dizzying heights. Corporate executives and spe­culators wallow in wealth. But they will not be sa­tisfied as long as a cent remains to be squeezed out of their lowest-income victims. A mere one-and-a-half million children going to bed hungry every night? Not nearly enough. Corporate Canada's sights are set at a much higher number.

r

In the past, picking on the weak and the poor was not normally something that the business elite and the ir political fl unkys could do with impunity. Prior to the nasty nineties, most people would be shocked by all this welfare-mom bashing. Even the most hardened right-wingcrs would at least raise their eyebrows. Today. however, as food is snatched out of the mouths of hungry kids, the writers of letters to the editor and the hot-line radio show callers enthu­siast ically applaud.

The media, instead of describing the plight of the thousands doomed to destitution, malic iously search for and expose the few peop le on welfare who are abusing l he system. Although they arc the excep­tions, they are depicted as typical "welfare bums," too lazy to work and living comfortably and para­sitically ofT the hard work of others.

It's surprising ly easy to stir up this kind of hatred of the underprivileged. The human animals indeed get meaner as their economic waterhole gets smaller. T hey don't blame the bloated plutocra~ who are greedi ly sucking up most of the country's fluid assets. They turn their fury on the most wretched and dis­advantaged members of society -those at the very bottom of the income ladder.

It 's eerily reminiscent of a laboratoryexperimem in which sadistic scientists provoke naturally peaceful mice or guinea pigs to fight among themselves. This is done with an extended family or colony of mice

that coexist in harmony as long as they all have enough to eat and drink.

Gradually the sc ientists start reducing their supply of food and water. They want to lind out at what reduced level of sustenance the mice can be induced to "compete" for their dwindling rations.

Eventually hunger turns the biggest and strongest mice against the weaker ones. At first they simply nip at them and drive them from the food containers. Then, if the food is drastically curtailed, the attacks become fi ercer. Carried to its extreme, this experi­ment results in the death of the weakest mice, either from their wounds or starvation. A cooperative and democratic community is deliberately converted into a war zone.

Like these lab mice, we Canad ians are being sub­jected to a steady reduction in our means of livelih­ood. Our business rulers are forc ing us to make do with fewer jobs, lower incomes, declin ing services, pared-down unemp loyment insurance, less reliable health care, and a shredded social security net.

Being somewhat more intell igent than mice or guinea pigs, we didn't have to react as they did. We could have directed our anger against our corporate and political tormentors instead of attack ing our less fortunate fellow c itizens. When we scapegoat the poor, the jobless and the homeless among us we are allowing ourselves to be manipu lated. We are letling the corporate lab technicians trigger our most brutal and sub-human instincts.

Canada has a reputation for being a civilized and compassionate country. The Un ited Nations ranks Canada at the top of its list of nations with the best quality of li fe. Four Canad ian c ities - Vancouver; Toronto, Onawa and Montreal- recently made it into the top ten of the world's most "liveab le" cities. But that superior way of life is rapid ly being eroded.

Our unemployment and poverty rates are now among the worst in the industrialized world. Fourteen coun­tries have a more generous Ul system than we do. We rank 4 7'h -far behind even Third World countries- in the gap between our men's and women's earn ings. We spend considerably less on our social programs, as a percentage of GOP, than do most countries in Europe.

Our econom ic and social waterhole, in short, is gelling smaller -is being coldly and callously made smaller.

So far we have responded predictably by getting ~caner. It's ti me we got smarter.

CBC Biased? Say it ain't so! By Rolf A uer

I've got 4 1 days worth of artic les, plus two books and a book preface, which should a llow me to give some kind o f an informed opinion on this tawdry tale.

lle re·s the sordid story in a nutshell: the federal To­ries a re accusing the CBC of being biased against them (i.e .. not conservative, or rather, left-leaning).

I turn now to a favourite reference book I own, Donald Gutste in 's 2009 publication Not A Conspiracy Themy. How Business Propaganda 1/ijacks Democ­racy. On p.220, this quote: "The right began accusing the press of liberal bias in the early 1970s. T hey're still at it more than thirty years la ter. Even though the corporate media are not liberal, conservatives continue to make the accusat ion because it is useful to do so. If the press can be accused of being too li bera l and left­ist, the right's extreme positi on will seem moderate in comparison."

A nd now from another reference, the 2000 publica­tion The Missing News: Fillers and Blind Spots in Canada's Press by Robert A. I Jackett & Richard Gruneau with Donald Gutstein, Timothy A. Gibson

and News Watch Canada. On p.30, this quote: " In addition, conservative critics sometimes seem to

extrapolate too carelessly from (selected) surveys of journalists' political views to news content.

· If most journalists are lefties.' they say in effect, ' then the news itself is tinted pink.' But bias that makes a difference must be on the screen or page, not just in newsworkers' heads. So there is an ~d~itior~al problem with the conservative critique: a mrssrng lrnk between journalists' consciousness and actual news content. Not surprisingly, a well-funded industry has arisen to supply the missing link- to "prove" that news is indeed s lanted to the left, and to provide the research ammunition to pressure the media to become more "balanced"- i.e., to move to the right."

What these quotes add up to is that there has been unrelenting pressure on Canada's news media over the past 30 years or more to move it toward the ri~h~, and that includes the CBC. So without even exarmmng any of the evidence ( in the articles) putting the CBC on trial, we already know that the CBC is not left-leaning, as the federal Tories claim. .

Before proceeding with the articles, let 's contmue with the books.

On p.20 I o f Nor A Conspiracy Theory, there is an account of a February 2005 Global Sunday T V show where one of the three right-lean ing panelists referred to the CBC as the "Corpse" without any viewers.

On p.23 of The Missing News, David Orchard de­scribed that the leaders of the activist group, Citizens Concerned About Free Trade (CCAFT), how their views have been consistently censored by mainstream

news media. During the 1993 federal election. CCAFT called Toronto's CBC Radio Noon open line show to respond to the question. "Are you getting the information you need in this e lection?" When they told C BC staff in the pre-interview that they wanted to discuss under-reporting of free trade. they were not allowed on the air. Calling in to another CBC phone­in show a year later. they were informed that their name was on a list o f people not to be let on air.

From pp.xiii-xiv of the Preface to Democracy's Oxygen: How C01porarions Conrrolrhe News by James Winter, this anecdote of a modern day Citizen Kane. Around 1996, CBC TV produced a documen­tary on press baron Conrad Black, called The Paper King, which was said to be quite tame. It was bal­anced and if anything, understated. It was produced by senior correspondent Joe Schlesinger, who con­lined himself to interviewing mainstream "critics·• of Black such as Peter C. Newman, chronicler of the rich and famous, former Conservative MPs, and Black's former drinking buddies.

Mordecai Richler put in a good word for Black and for newspaper chain owners. Black' s partner, David Radler, assured the public that " We are not going to change liberal papers into Conservati ve think-tanks," (even though that' s exactly what has been happening)

Black refused to be interviewed for the documen­tary, but in the column he wrote as a rebuttal, he de­nied being "extremely conservative." Former British PM Margaret Thatcher disagreed, having said she found herself on his left, politically.(!)

In October 1996, Black instructed all 59 of his Ca­nadian daily newspapers to carry his op-ed rebuttal. titled "Conrad Black's response to the CBC", calli ng the documentary "a smear job'' and " a televised kan­garoo court". Black saw the documentary as further evidence of what he called "the virtual monopoly [of) the soft left" in the Canada news media. Of course, you' d expect such a statement from someone who has been described as "somewhere to the right of Attila the llun." (l'llleave the "Robber Baron" jokes to somebody else.)

Who can forget the leaky condo cris is in Vancou­ver? On pp.214-216 of The Missing News, we learn that the story was lirst reported in February 1993. Then the reporter and the sto ry disappeared down a black hole due to pressure from developers and adver· tisers. The CBC was complicit in this as wel l. The story didn't resurface again in a big way until 1998. at

which time it became unavoidable. The last piece of book evidence I have to present

comes from p.90 of The Missing News. Journalists from across Canada were asked to rate their percep­tions of"blind spots" in the news. Here are a few. 51.1% thought left-wing perspectives were undercov­ered (25.5% thought they were overcovered). 63%

thought right-wing perspectives were overcovered (I 5.2% thought they were undercovered). 83.3% thought investigative reporting was undercovered. 74% thought social policies and their implications were undercovered. About 50% thought Health, Business and Investment, and the Arts coverage was

about right. Now to continue with this foolish fable. An October 2, 2009 Tyee (www.thetyee.ca) by

Crawford Ki li an titled "Canwcst Global may sell pa­pers; CBC, National Posr sharing content"' tells of the CBC running financial stories from the hard right Post on their website. So, where docs it all end, is my question?

What started thi s all off was a llarris-Decima poll commissioned by Preston Manning of The Manning Centre, a "hardcore right-wing think tank"' (The Pro­gressive Rambler), done by a (surprise !) conservative polling firm, and supposedly showing that Canadians are becoming more conservative. ("More Canadians leaning right, poll finds." Steven Chase. The Globe and Mail, March 12, 2010)

.. Andre Turcotte [and Allan Gregg], who conducted the poll, [say] Canadians have a personal code of con­duct but don't want government to intrude in private life. [Turcotte] says there· s room for more right-wing policies in the country, but Conservatives should 'stay away from the social Darwinism that turns off peo­ple.'

NDP spokesman Karl Belanger said he didn't expect any other results from a Manning Centre­commissioned survey.

' It 's like a poll from Burger King stating that Cana­dians are moving to the Whopper,' he said inan e­mail."' ( .. Canadians move to the right: poll," Laura Payton, Canoe News, March 12, 20 I 0)

Of course, Preston Manning got prominent coverage of his poll in a large op-ed article in The Globe and Mail. Social activist Murray Dobbin responded in his blog on Apri l II, 20 I 0, ··Preston Manning up to more mischief." In it, he wrote ofEkos polling firm's President Frank Graves carrying out much the same polling rwo weeks after the Manning poll, and finding that in fact, things in Canada were preny much the same as they were I 0 years ago. Graves said he would continue to look into the Manning poll results. Ekos even went so far as to suggest that Canadians, in a number of areas, are becoming less conservative.

Then the shit hit the fan. On April 22,2010, Nor­man Spector wrote in a blog entry of his titled "CBC pollster/Liberal adviser?" about Frank Graves advis­ing the federal Liberals to "invoke a culture war."

The following day, Apri l 23, 20 I 0, The Globe and Mail ran this article by Bill Curry, "Pollster Frank Graves apologizes, denies anti-Tory bias." At the

same time. however. Graves seemed to suggest that

the federal phobes and homophobes. pan and into the fire!

That's\\ hen the Tories accused the CBC of bias (Graves is a CBC pollster).

Fact: Graves is not now, nor has ever been, a card carrying Liberal, has never worked for them, and gives advice to all parties. Graves is not affiliated with any political party.

Fact: The CBC employs Kory Teneycke, the fonner communication~ director for Stephen Harper, as a pai partisan commentator.

Then this Globe and Mail story broke on May 7, 20 I 0 by Jane Taber titled, "'Viewer-inspired' CBC poll \\Orks Tories into a lather.'' What apparently bothered the Tories was their concern whether a poll survey question on women in politics was inspired by a Liberal candidate. Graves, for his part, said he had

no knowledge of who posed the question or how it came to be. The Tories seem to be grasping at straws.

But hold on! The straw grasping is just beginning! Next up, we have The Globe and Mail's May 12, 20 I 0 artic le by Jane Taber titled, "CBC waging ' faith war,' Conservatives sa)'." The CBC ran an eight minute TV segment on the book, The Armageddon Factor. which investigates the religious right in Canada and its ties to the llarper government. Surely. that indicates a bias against the Tories!

A May 18, 20 I 0 blog entry by Nonnan Spector ti­tled , "Why Conservatives are attacking CBC," puts it quite simply: the Tory Party polls about I 0 points lower than llarper's personal approval rating- the challenge is to close that gap and put the Tories within Majority reach. By attacking the CBC, it believes it can sway potential supporters away from the supposed negative niessages it conveys (if this were in fact the case).

On May 21, 20 I 0, The Vancouver Sun published this leller of mine:

Re: CBC and the Tories: Long-time enemies, Issue! & Ideas. Ma) 19:

This commentary leaves the impression that the CBC is a left-leaning instiiLltion dead-set against the federal Tories, and "hiring fonner Harper spokesman Kory Teneycke will not be enough to overcome it."

This couldn't be further from the truth. If anything. the CBC is right-leaning, as anybody who has watched CBC TV news can tell. What else to make its political panel, two of three members being An­drew Coyne, of hard-right Maclean's, and Allan Gregg, who polls for Conservati ves, to show how far right-wing Canada no\\ is? Its chief pundit is Rex Murphy, now also at the hard right National Post. Take former journalists in the Harper government: member of Parliament Peter Kent, and Senators Mikt Duffy and Pamela Wallin-- they all had serious CBC careers. If all this doesn't show the CBC's true ideo­logical bent. I don't know what does.

I now owe my soul to Globe and Mail columnist Rick alutin. for it was from his May 14. 2010 col­umn titled .. CBC and Frum: Ships in the ideological night" where I drew most, if not all, of the ammuni­tion for my feller. Salutin wrote, ·'Should leftists de· fend the CBC? !fell. no, they should attack it - for being so far to the right."

That's the conclusion I had already reached even before reading Salutin's exhortation.

THIS NEWSLETIER 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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.. i have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, dignity, equality and justice for their spirits. I believe that what self-centred men have tom down, other-centred men can build up.'

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Mike Wickson has passed away. For anyone who knew Mike, there is a blog at dbrowncooks for thoughts and how you remember him.

To Leon French : Have a good & happy birthday with many more to come! Ada Dennis

HUM1 01: Documentaries- Saturdays, 6pm, Theatre June 12: Programming the Na tion: After its first screening on June 8 in Seattle this new documentary IS shown for {irs/lime in Canntfa, l1ere at/he Carnegie!!!!!! !low are we made to think and what mind control means are used? Are we being brainwashed. or have we just lost our minds? (I hour 49 mmutes) Jevon 's Paradox: Producer Conrad Schmitt of Five Ring Circus fame will be here to host and field a Q and A session over his latest documentary on our needless consumption and why the world can' t take any more. ( I hour) June 19: Shadow Government - A plan to destroy democ­racy and freedom. Alex Jones at his best. (2 hours). JFK ll - Did George Bush Sr. Pull the trigger? You watch and decide. (One hour) June 26: Reflections and Warnings- An interview with Aaron Russo, on people control and his friendsh ip with some of the world's biggest controllers. An inside look at great power. ( I hour 30 minutes) New American Centu ry: How Governments a re planning to run things fo r the new elite in our lifetime. (2 hours)

Come learn something new at the documentar ies and start today to put a stop to power and control over us as individua ls. Knowledge is our greatest weapon agai nst becoming slaves. Join us at documentaries for thinkers on Saturday nights. (Except on the FIRST Saturday of every month . That is Poetry Night. Please attend that as well.)

Saints wa lk among us with hands fo lded in suppl ication we are wished the peace and love we need in this harsh paradise

He's black as coal, seven feet tall his fi'iend my medicine man also tall together walking thru the turmoil blessing us and exalting us all the mere presence of the enlightened one makes us all a little more worthy of the Cosmic Love that connects us a ll.

Over breakfast on many rainy mornings my heart is gladdened and fortified by the love of my soul brothers I am uplifted by the fi'iendship easily gotten, easily given all in the prayer thru folded fingers Peace and love my brother may your day be blessed

Community

Connected to community Exploring the possibilities Lettingfeelings flow together Relationships can only grow

Soon embraced in security Of the friendships that we know Will bind us in camaraderie For with patience we /el go Of pride prejudice and bias To include those who hope

AI

To find a life without, drugs, drink or dope.

In honesty and sincerity We attend a building holding much Remembering each other has had to make a star In bringing one another back from the dark The smile shared between us all When we each do our part.

Respecting, including, humor at its best Sharing caring loving giving when Tired taking rest. Working together a dream can come true.

Partners pairs and singles too Exchanging help between us we can help you toe

Lorna Wellman

Paranoia

I have a Safeway cart in my boring prairie towns ... bedroom

just in case You never know -Life is precarious I have

learned One day- comfort The next day a cold and

rainy street and the company of

ragamuffins

Not that I despise the ragamuffins

I invent stories for their misfortune - ·

Cruel stepmothers ...

Ten Miles from the Mall. Angels of youth angst-ridden in these harsh interesting times.

So I keep the cart Who knows ... I may be next Methinks the building manager doth squinny at me 1 did complain about the toilet that continues

to run cold water day and night

The other night I was in deepest thought, Pondering mightily the gravest of issues and 1 mean serious stuff-

WILHELM INA

When in through my open window staggered A big dishevelled moth, aU drunk and disorderly. At frrst just annoying, his flu ttering Became erratic and grew progressively chaotic. His antics derailed my train of thought And totally wrecked my concentration. I got up to confront him about all of this, But he staggered to the window and stllrDbled Back into the night - and it really pissed me off To watch him make his getaway before I had the chance to straighten him out properly. Standing in a rage amid all the carnage, I decided To sift through the fragments and assemble a poem.

KEN MORRISON

trust trust people

'til they cross me

and then they owe me

their souls

ANITA HAVIVA STEVENS

I