FREE - donal ions accepted.

N E W S L E T T E R APRIL 1 5 , 1991. 7--

4

Zdi ~ a i n S t . , Vancouver, 8. C. (604) 665-2289

on ~ h u r s d a y , Apr i l l l t h , t h e iss- funding t h e School Lunch Program came Lu

Ci ty Council. Members of End Leg i s l a t ed - Pover ty , w i th a broad base of support from medica l , educa t ion and c h i l d au thor- i t i e s , spoke i n favour of i n c r e a s i n g t h e funding and expanding t h e program t o in- c lude 4 more elementary s choo l s and one f u l l h igh school program. Th i s was i n t h e f a c e of t h e c i t y manager r e c m e n d i n ~ t h e - - whole t h i n g be scrapped.

When t h e expansion proposa l was brought be fo re t h e School Board, i t was f o r t e n - more schoo l s and would have helped wi th about ha l f of t h e s choo l s i n Vancouver where c h i l d r e n a t t e n d da i ly . .hungry .

The motion b e f o r e Council was t o spend Under- Funded $160,000. ELPIS proposa l , cut i n ha l f (5 schools i n s t e a d of 10) c o s t $640,000.

The l -vote ma jo r i t y of t h e NPA and Gord Campbell s topped any i n c r e a s e and passed t h e $160,000 s t i pend . These c o u n c i l l o r s ' k i d s d o n ' t go t o school hungry, s o 'what ' s t h e problem'?

The i s s u e of hunger is a s o ld a s t h e human race . One of t h e e a s i e s t ways t o es- cape any f e e l i n g s of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r hunger o r t he pover ty t h a t causes i t is t o c l i n g t o t h e l i n e h he poor w i l l a l - ways be wi th us ." The ques t ion I a sk i s , "What p re s su re s were brought t o bear on t h e person who put t h a t i n t h e s t o r y ? "

"Was i t a s i n g l e r i c h person o r d i d t h e au tho r have a c y n i c a l a t t i t u d e about what would s e l l ? Did a group of bus ines s people demand t h a t i t be a t t r i b u t e d t o J e s u s a s t h e Bib le was being put t oge the r? What b e t t e r way t o weasel ou t of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e s u f f e r i n g your d e a l i n g s cause than t o poin t t o " Je sus ' s words", shrug your shou lde r s , and say , "Hey, t h e man says i t ' s not my f au l t ! " The p a r a l l e l s a r e sad.

Ending ~ z i s l a t e d Poverty i nvo lves d i r - e c t s t r u g g l e wi th such people who manipu- l a t e pub l i c opin ion - o r who j u s t don ' t g ive a damn about pub l i c opin ion and l i m i t t h e i r t h ink ing t o t h e weight of t h e i r own personal gold. I have a somewhat unique expe r i ence wi th

hunger and m a l n u t r i t i o n - unique a t l e a s t i n speaking t o such people a s t h e NPA has on Council . .people who have never been hungry o r l i k e l y gone f o r more than 1 day without i n t h e i r l i v e s . My p h y s i c a l d i s - o rde r was caused by s t a r v a t i o n , malnut r i - t i o n , poison, m a l n u t r i t i o n , dysentary , malnutrition..malnutrition, o s t e o p o r o s i s and subsequent f r a c t u r e d sp ine . I had no- t h i n g but water f o r 86 days s t r a i g h t when I was 22 yea r s o ld . M a l n u t r i t i o n makes food a c o n s t a n t worry f o r anyone who has o r is s u f f e r i n g from i t .

Council has t o focus on l i v e s - the po- t e n t i a l l i v e s of ou r c h i l d r e n which w i l l be s e r i o u s l y a f f e c t e d by hunger and mal- n u t r i t i o n . Not having enough money t o feed a c h i l d n u t r i t i o u s food means t h a t they e a t l e s s , and u s u a l l y what they do e a t i s f a r i n f e r i o r t o what they should be ea t - ing. Equal t o t h i s i s t h e s o c i a l t e n s i o n of hungry c h i l d r e n i n s choo l w i th o t h e r c h i l d r e n who d o n ' t s u f f e r from hunger o r

n a l n u t r i t i o n ; c h i l d r e n who have money f o r Sun & games and o t h e r t h i n g s t h a t a r e j u s t ireams t o t h e poor k i d s . Worse is when some l e v e l of government

s e t s up a program t h a t f o r c e s t h e s e mal- lour i shed k i d s t o s u f f e r t h e h u m i l i a t i o n )f having t o i d e n t i f y themselves a s one ,f t h e 'coupon' k i d s t o g e t a t i c k e t f o r I meal - l i k e t h e program t h a t t h e School Board, w i th i t s NPA m a j o r i t y , ha s r i g h t now i n t h e one h igh school .

Council was asked t o look a t t h e need. School lunch programs a r e no t f o r t h e p r i - v i l e g e d few; t hey a r e no t f o r thousands of people t o abuse and make a joke o f . Our c h i l d r e n a r e hungry because t h e v a r i o u s l e v e l s of government r e f u s e t o open t h e Pandora ' s Box of c o r p o r a t e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r c r e a t i n g t h e pover ty i n s o c i e t y . 1t 's a f r i g h t e n i n g t h i n g when hundreds

of thousands of d o l l a r s can be spen t on a 2 o r 3 day d i s p l a y of f i r eworks o r p r i n t - i n g 2 o r 3 pamphlets promoting tourism.. . and thousands of c h i l d r e n a r e going hungry wi th t h e p o t e n t i a l o f t h e i r l i v e s c u r t a i l - ed o r c u t t o noth ing but i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a - t i o n . The p o l i c e c a n ' t d e a l w i th t h e s o c i a l problems being germinated by hunger but an a s p e c t of t h e i r t r a i n i n g is v e r y r e l e v a n t - prevent ion .

The NPA m a j o r i t y chose t o s i g h and a g r e e t o fund schoo l lunches w i th $160,000. This is such a mediocre approach. Pa t Chauncey from ELP had handed ou t a map wi th a l l t h e s choo l s needing food programs a s p a r t of h e r p r e s e n t a t i o n . Pa t has been t h e r e a l s t r e n g t h and s o u l of Vancouver's lunch program, and on t h e map s h e c i r c l e d 25- 30 schoo l s w i th s i g n i f i c a n t numbers of poor c h i l d r e n a t t e n d i n g . ELP'S proposa l , c u t from ask ing f o r funding f o r 1 0 more s choo l s t o j u s t 5 more, was a ba re minimum t o meet about 114 of t h e need. The need i s r e a l . The l i v e s of thousands

of c h i l d r e n i s t h e r e a l i s s u e , and a f i rm, unanimous v o t e by C i t y Council would send s t r o n g s i g n a l s t o t h e p r o v i n c i a l and fed- e r a l governments: The l i v e s of people - e s p e c i a l l y c h i l d r e n - a r e t h e most impor- t a n t f a c t o r i n t h i s Counc i l ' s d e c i s i o n s .

By PAULR TAYLOR

PEACE WALK

V a n c o u v e r ' s a n n u a l P e a c e Wal powerment Advocate P r o j e c t . i s Sa tu rday , A p r i l 20th . Canadian The C o a l i t i o n and t h e Advocacy Acc- p e o p l e ' s o r g a n i z a t i o n s meet a t Kitsa- ess s t a f f i n v i t e you t o c e l e b r a t e l a n o Park a t t h e s o u t h end of t h e t h i s important even t w i t h Angie Dorge Burrard S t r e e t b r idge . and Tracy Moore, Mental Hea l th Empow-

Over 2,500 peop le a t t e n d e d t h e Amer erment Advocate T r a i n e e s . Opening ceremonies w i l l commence a t

t h e t e s t i n g of n u c l e a r weapons und

Branch w i l l h o s t a forum on c h i l d r e n ' r i g h t s e n t i t l e d Kids For Kids. The even t w i l l t a k e p l a c e i n t h e Great

1990 p u b l i c a c c o u n t s last week and Robson Square a t 860 Smithe S t r e e t .

hard-pressed Downtown E a s t s i d e r e s i d e n t s are (grades might be i n t e r e s t e d t o know t h a t t h e t o 9) w i l l p r e s e n t 20 minute perform-

government s p e n t $5.8 m i l l i o n t o a c q u i r e ances d r a m a t i z i n g v a r i o u s a s p e c t s of l a n d f o r s o c i a l housing. The govt . had c h i l d r e n ' s r i g h t s such as racism, budgetted $20 million. ~~~~i~~ an h e a l t h c a r e , s t r e e t c h i l d r e n , c h i l d r e n ordable housing c r i s i s they d i d n ' t even w i t h AIDS and war. Enter ta inment w i l l

spend a l l t h e money i t had promised. be provided by S h e r i U l r i c h and Holly

BY t h e way, t h e govt-fs p u b l i c a f f a i r s Arntzen. There w i l l be pane l d i s c u s s -

bureau charged t h e t a x p a y e r s $5 m i l l i o n i o n s w i t h e x p e r t ' s s p e c i a l i z i n g i n for i t s Userv i ce s " . w i t . , social c r e d i t , c h i l d r e n ' s r i g h t s . Complimentary

p u b l i c i t y appears to be even more impor- snacks w i l l be provided. Admission is

t a n t t h a n r e s u l t s . O r , do words speak $ 1 . 0 0 . For more information p lease l o u d e r t h a n a c t i o n s ? c o n t a c t t h e United Nat ions A s s o c i a t i o n

Vancouver Branch a t 732-0448 o r f a x Herman L i t s k y .,, 7\ Y-- v-.- . - - 736-8963 .

WRITER ALERT

Dear C a r n e g i e F r i e n d s ,

So many o f you have l i v e d d i f f e r e n t k i n d s o f l ives- So many o f you have s t o r i e s t o tell-

Anyone c a n w r i t e . You d o n ' t have t o s p e l l , j u s t write i t and check t h e s p e l l i n g l a t e r

Whatever h a s h a p p e n e d t o you, w r i t e a b o u t i t - i t h e l p s h e a l i n g happen.

Our s t o r i e s are t h e t r u e h i s t o r y . I w r i t e . I ' m n o t a good s p e l l e r e i t h e r . J u s t write your t r u e f e e l 4 n g s .

Come t o t h e L e a r n i n g C e n t r e i f you want t o t a l k abou t i t .

So t a k e a p e n c i l and pape r and j u s t d o i t ; and i f i t f e e l s good - Do It Again! See you.

S h e i l a B a x t e r

Yuppie Lament

s i t t i n ' on t h e r i ve r bank f a r from t h e t h i n k t a n k f e e l i n g s u n on my f a c e f a r from t h e s i l l y p o s e

l a y i n ' on t h e sweet g r a s s t h i n k i n ' o f y u p p i e d a y s l i s t e n i n ' t o t h e b r e e z e s I h e a r t h i s i s a l l I ' l l e v e r need

comes a l o n g a l oud c l a t t e r BOSS s a y s 'Well, l e t ' s g e t a t 'er" down t o e a r t h w i t h a scream wou ldn ' t you know. . ju s t a dream

Della B

GROOVING AS CHANGE

Grooving as change Engl i sh measurements squared l o g s of wood log l eap ing a t low t i d e eyeing down on me a s e a g u l l f l y s by and (I) f e l l o f f t h e l o g though

rocking on a l o g r i g h t ang le s always chas ing g loba l movement s c a t t e r i n g s u n ' s rays clouds a c r o s s t h e hor izon t h e mountaintops a s e a l l i o n bobbing on t h e wave waves of t h e ocean l o g s f l o a t i n g i n t h e bay shore l i n e e r rodes rocks and s t o n e s f l u n g a long t h e shore t r a i n s t r a n s p o r t pu l l ed over t h e shore Can you do me a favour? Can you lend me 1 5 ~ ' . Sure Longshoremen t a l k i n g i n groups of t h r e e s s a i l o r s on shore leave , ru sh ings from t h e se; where a r e t h e green l e a v e s ?

Looking f o r t h e r i g h t ones r e spons ib l e f o r so lu t ions ' Rel ie f f o r t hose who seek t h e migh t i e r f r i e n d l i e r d i e h e r e e a s i l y t h e crowned heads of Europe t h e blood i n motherhood t h e anger and dea th of t h e middle n a t i o n s hea r s t h e o ld owrds custom and l o g i c of t h e o ld n a t i o n shrouds on a l l we have known al.1 a lone on t h e ground i n t h e i a r and a t t h e water t o do what (we can) how under i t s s p e l l I r e f u t e you bouncing views of I love you barbwires , I h a t e you! block d i r e c t acces s e d i t s du res s t o t he beaches! ~ t ' s c o n t r o l , s u r v e i l a n c e and g a i n . , . .

Taum "Let t h e g r e a t world s p i n f o r e v e r ,

Down t h e r ag ing groover of change." Alf red , Lord Tenny son

Who I S WELFARE FOK?

We have w e l f a r e t o h e l p t h e p o o r , r i g h t ? W e l f a r e k e e p s p e o p l e from s t a r v i n g when t h e y c a n ' t work, It p r o v i d e s money f o r r e n t s o w e d o n ' t have s o many homeless peop le . I t f e e d s t h o s e l i t t l e c h i l d r e n o f s i n g l e p a r e n t s . L a t e l y t h e s o c r e d s have been s a y i n g t h a t a n o t h e r purpose o f t h e w e l f a r e sys tem is t o g i v e p e o p l e t h e " i n c e n t i v e " t o work.

The p e o p l e who a r e on w e l f a r e , o r d e a l w i t h t h e s y s t e m a l o t , have a h a r d t i m e f i g u r i n g someth ing o u t . I f t h e w e l f a r e sys tem i s supposed t o h e l p t h e p o o r , how come i t d o e s s u c h a l o u s y j o b o t i f ?

Why are t h e r a t e s s o low t h a t t h e S o c i a l P l a n n i n g and Review C o u n c i l o f BC docu- ments t h a t a s i n g l e p e r s o n h a s enough money t o s u r v i v e th rough a b o u t 14 d a y s o f a month, and a s i n g l e p a r e n t w i t h two t e e n a g e r s h a s enough t o l a s t f o r o n l y a b o u t 16 d a y s ? Why i s i t s o d e g r a d i n g t o c o l l e c t w e l f a r e t h a t p e o p l e o f t e n l o s e t h e s e l f - e s t e e m t h a t i s needed t o compete f o r j o b s when t h e y are a b l e t o ? Why i s i t t h a t t h e amount o f money o n e g e t s f rom w e l f a r e makes i t v i r t u a l l y i m p o s s i b l e t o do a p r o p e r j o b s e a r c h u n l e s s one wan t s t o s c r i m p on food? Why is i t t h a t even when we manage t o g e t o f f w e l f a r e , i t is u s u a l l y o n l y f o r a s h o r t t i m e and w e ' r e n o t r e a l l y any b e t t e r o f f money-wise?

Low income p e o p l e know what c h a n g e s are needed s o t h a t t h e w e l f a r e sys tem & t h e employment sys tem would a c t u a l l y h e l p poor peop le . We need a d e q u a t e income, h i g h e r wages, d e c e n t j o b s t o go t o , a f f o r - d a b l e h o u s i n g and c h i l d c a r e . We have t o l d t h e s o c r e d gov t . t h i s numerous t i m e s .

So i t is somewhat p u z z l i n g . I f w e l f a r e i s supposed t o h e l p t h e p o o r , why i s n ' t i t h e l p i n g u s ? And i f t h e government knows how t o change t h e sys tem s o i t would h e l p u s , a s t h e y d o , why a r e n ' t t h e y making t h o s e changes?

D r . Diana Ralph, who t e a c h e s i n t h e Schoo l of S o c i a l Work a t C a r l e t o n Univer- s i t y , h a s a n i n t e r e s t i n g e x p l a n a t i o n of w e l f a r e p o l i c i e s . She s a y s t h e r e a r e r e a l - l y two k i n d s . One k ind i s d e s i g n e d t o h e l p poor p e o p l e . The o t h e r k ind i s a c t u a l l y d e s i g n e d t o h e l p b u s i n e s s , and i t u s e s p o v e r t y and poor p e o p l e as a t o o l t o h e l p b u s i n e s s make more p r o f i t s .

Ralph s a y s t h e r e a r e s e v e r a l ways t h a t w e l f a r e p o l i c y c a n be d e s i g n e d t o h e l p b u s i n e s s . The sys tem c a n t r y t o f o r c e peop le t o work by hav ing v e r y low r a t e s , by r e q u i r i n g p e o p l e t o l o o k f o r j o b s even when t h e r e a r e n ' t enough o f them and even i f t h e y a r e o f no b e n e f i t t o t h e p e r s o n o r t h e f a m i l y , and by conveying t h e message t h a t p e o p l e who d o n ' t work a r e l a z y and i i s h o n e s t . Welfare p o l i c y c a n a l s o h e l p b u s i n e s s by

p r o v i d i n g d i r e c t wage s u b s i d i e s t o employ- 3rs and d i r e c t r e n t s u b s i d i e s t o l a n d l o r d s . S o c i a l C r e d i t a c t i o n on w e l f a r e p o l i c i e s

nakes more s e n s e when you l o o k a t i t from t h i s p e r s p e c t i v e . I n S o c i a l C r e d i t BC, the purpose o f w e l f a r e is t o h e l p b u s i n e s s md h e r e ' s how i t owrks. A w e l f a r e sys tem t h a t is d e s i g n e d f o r

m s i n e s s w i l l f o r c e p e o p l e t o work a t low l a i d j o b s . The s o c r e d s have managed t o I s s u r e t h i s i n s e v e r a l ways. R q t e s r a n g e Erom a b o u t 45 t o 6 5 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o v e r t y Line s o t h e y are lower t h a n s u b s i s t e n c e Level. T h i s means t h a t v i r t u a l l y any low {age j o b l o o k s b e t t e r t h a n w e l f a r e . ' eop le a r e t h r e a t e n e d w i t h b e i n g c u t o f f elfa are i f t h e y d o n ' t l o o k f o r and a c c e p t my k ind o f j o b r e g a r d l e s s o f pay, s a f e t y , ~ n d b e n e f i t t o t h e pe r son and h e r o r h i s iamily. Government s t a t e m e n t ' s l i k e Vanderzalm's

'amous s h o v e l s t a t e m e n t convey t h e message : h a t p e o p l e a r e on w e l f a r e because t h e y I re l a z y and d i s h o n e s t . Socred m i n i s t e r s . e l l t h e media t h a t "everyone who is capa- ) l e o f working s h o u l d be a b l e t o f i n d a ob," i n s p i t e o f t h e f a c t t h a t t h e unem- bloyment r a t e i n BC is now o v e r 10%. The . m p l i c a t i o n ? P e o p l e on w e l f a r e a r e l a z y . ' h i s form of d i s c r i m i n a t i o n would be i l l e - ; a1 i f i t were d i r e c t e d a t a n o t h e r c a t e -

, t o r y 01 [~cOpie - a r e l i g i o u s o r r a c i a l g roup , f o r example. But p e o p l e on w e l f a r e a r e f a i r game f o r d i s c r i m i n a t o r y comments and a l l u s i o n s by p o l i t i c i a n s and o t h e r s . 111e e r i e c t of a l l t h e s e p o l i c i e s is t o in - c rease t h e s u p p l y of d e s p e r a t e p e o p l e w i l l - i n g t o undercu t t h e wages of o t h e r working peop le .

'1 h i s i s a n e x t r e m e l y i m p o r t a n t dynamic t o u n d e r s t a n d . O f t e n p e o p l e who work, even i n l o w pay ing j o b s , g e t q u i t e a n g r y a t t h e i d e a ol pay ing t a x e s t o s u p p o r t peop le on w e l f a r e . But we l i v e i n a p r o v i n c e where we r o u t i n e 1 y have o v e r 130,OOO:people (now o v e r 200,000) s e e k i n g j o b s t h a t d o n ' t ex- i s t . The more f o r c e t h a t i s a p p l i e d t o t l ~ e s e p e o p l e t o work, t h e more l i k e l y t h e y a r e t o u n d e r c u t wages of p e o p l e who have jobs now. l'he whole v i c i o u s c i r c l e c r e a t e s more p o v e r t y f o r workers and more p rof i t s f u r I )us iness which g e t s cheap s t a f f .

A w e l f a r e sys tem t h a t is d e s i g n e d t o h e l p b u s i n e s s w i l l a l s o h e l p employers w i t h wq;e s u b s i d i e s . R igh t now, f o r example, t h e s o c r e d s have a n "Employment P l u s " program t i n t pays up t o $3.50 a n hour t o employers i f t l ~ e y h i r e a p e r s o n on w e l f a r e . On t h e s u r f a c e t h i s seems ok. But remember we s L i l l have t e n s of thousands of p e o p l e s e e k i n g work who a r e n ' t on w e l f a r e . llow many employers w i l l f i r e a c u r r e n t employ- e e o r n o t h i r e a new o n e , s o t h e y c a n g e t t h e wage s u b s i d y ? Wouldn't i t be c h e a p e r f o r t i le t a x p a y e r s if government s i m p l y r a i s e d minimum wage t o $7.50 a n hour t o keep pace w i t h t h e v a l u e t h a t i t h a s l o s t s i n c e 1975?

but r a i s i n g mininiurn wage t o a r e a s o n a b l e l e v e l w o u l d n ' t be p a r t of t h e p h i l o s o p h y o f w e l f a r e f o r b u s i n e s s . I t would c u t i n t o p rof i L s.

'Tilere a r e o t h e r ways t h a t t h e s o c r e d w e l - f a r e sys tem h e l p s b u s i n e s s . P e o p l e locked- o u t o r on s t r i k e , f o r example, a r e n o t e l - i g i b l e f o r w e l f a r e . T h i s makes i t more l i k e l y t h a t t h e y ' l l have t o g i v e up de- mands f o r wages and working c o n d i t i o n s i f t h e i r f a m i l i e s haye no r e s o u r c e s t o c o n t - i n u e pay ing n e c e s s a r y expenses . Of ten when t h e s o c r e d s d o r a i s e w e l f a r e

r a t e s a meagre amount, t h e y r a i s e t h e s h e l - ter p o r t i o n t h e most . T h i s means t h a t l and-

~ o r d s g e t all t h e e x t r a money, n o t poor l e o p l e . A w e l f a r e s y s t e m t h a t w a s r e a l l y d e s i g n e d

ro " h e l p t h e poor" would p r o v i d e a d e q u a t e r a t e s t h a t would meet b a s i c n e c e s s i t i e s Eor a l l . A government t h a t wanted t o " h e l p the poor" wouldn' t t h r e a t e n p e o p l e i n t h e d e l f a r e sys tem t o f o r c e them t o work. It ~ o u l d c r e a t e i n c e n t i v e s i n t h e employment system s o t h a t work would b e a v a i l a b l e and

' ~ o u l d pay wages t h a t b e n e f i t us . we'd have i

i u l l employment. Wages and b e n e f i t s would I

,e enough t o s u p p o r t f a m i l i e s i n d i g n i t y . ~ e ' d have pay e q u i t y s o t h a t women as j e l l a s men would have a chance o f e a r n - ing a f a m i l y wage. And we'd have l a w s :hat make i t p o s s i b l e f o r u n i o n s t o o rg- i n i z e more w o r k s i t e s and t o b a r g a i n suc- : e s s f u l l y f o r d e c e n t wages and working : o n d i t i o n s . We'd have good q u a l i t y c h i l d - :are and a f f o r d a b l e hous ing . Then t e n s o f thousands o f s i n g l e m o t h e r s c o u l d a f f o r d t o work o u t s i d e t h e home i f t h e y wanted t o . There is someth ing else t o c o n s i d e r . I f

mr w e l f a r e and employment s y s t e m s r e a l l y i i d h e l p low income p e o p l e , b u s i n e s s would have c u s t o m e r s w i t h more money. Re- nember Henry Ford? He w a s smar t enough t o dan t h i s employees t o be a b l e t o a f f o r d t o buy t h e c a r e t h e y produced.

Should o u r w e l f a r e s y s t e m be d e s i g n e d t o h e l p b u s i n e s s i n t h e na r row s e n s e o f keep ing wages low, o r s h o u l d i t h e l p low income p e o p l e ? I f we answer t h a t i t s h o u l d h e l p b u s i n e s s pay low wages, we w i l l head toward a d i v i d e d t w o - t i e r s o c i - e t y - t h e k ind t h a t h a s deve loped i n T h i r d World c o u n t r i e s , and are i n c r e a s - i n g l y e v i d e n t i n G r e a t B r i t a i n and t h e US These a r e s o c i e t i e s where poor b a b i e s have h i g h i n f a n t m o r t a l i t y r a t e s , where a l i e n a t e d p e o p l e g e t i n v o l v e d i n d r u g s , and v i o l e n c e e r u p t s i n t h e s t r e e t s .

Who is w e l f a r e f o r ? ~ e t ' s g e t b e h i n d a w e l f a r e sys tem t h a t would be p a r t o f a l a r g e r s t r a t e g y t o end p o v e r t y . hat's what would r e a l l y " h e l p t h e poor. ' '

By JEAN SWANSON End L e g i s l a t e d P o v e r t y 211 - 456 W. Broadway

(879-1209) Vancouver, V5Y 1R3

L d i t o r ,

I n 1986, guess who s a i d t h e fo l low- i n g a f t e r be ing sworn i n a s P remie r?

" A S t l le l e a d e r of government, I be- l i e v e i t is c r i t i c a l t o t h a t p r o c e s s t h a t a l l B r i t i s h Columbians have f u l l c o n f i d e n c e i n t h o s e who s e r v e i n my a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . I want t o e n s u r e t h a t t h o s e who a r e e l e c t e d ... l e a v e no doub t s whatsoever i n t h e mind of t h e 1)ubl ic a s t o t h e e t h i c s and i n t e g r i t y of t h o s e who s e r v e i n p u b l i c o f f i c e . . I must be f r a n k . I canno t - and I w i l l n o t - promise you p e r f e c t i o n . Mis takes w i l l be made."

I n 1990, guess who s a i d t h i s : "I d i d n ' t know I owned Fantasy Gardens"

I n 1991, guess who d i d n ' t s a y t h i s : "I d i d n ' t know I was t h e Premier ."

Darren Lowe

A L i t t l e T i d b i t from New Zealand ... Back i n 1988, when t h e T o r i e s were

spend ing $54 m i l l i o n on t h e g r e a t "Free Trade" con j o b , t hey brought a New Zealand p o l i t i c i a n o v e r t o s p o u t o f f a b o u t how g r a n d / g r e a t / w o n d e r f u l i t was i n h i s c o u n t r y .

I t ' s s i n c e come t o l i g h t t h a t he (Roger Douglas) announced i n J a n u a r y 1990 t h a t he wou ldn ' t be s e e k i n g r e - e l e c t i o n . H i s p a r t y was 20 p o i n t s behind t h e o p p o s i t i o n i n t h e i r p o l l s and thousands upon thousands o f New z e a l a n d ' s p e o p l e wanted him hung.

One d i r e c t e f f e c t o f ' ~oge rnomics ! . was doub le d i g i t unemployment, bank- r u p t f a rms and b u s i n e s s l e a v i n g t h e c o u n t r y f o r A u s t r a l i a .

Here, w i t h a m i r r o r image, Mulroney and h i s i n n e r c a b i n e t have c o n t r o l o f t h e c a b i n e t v o t e s ( l i k e Douglas and h i s c r o n i e s had i n N.Z.) and are, as Douglas d i d , i g n o r i n g t h e loud v o i c e of t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y of t h e p e o p l e .

Lo and b e h o l d , unemployment i s now i n d o u b l e d i g i t s , b a n k r u p t c i e s are s k y r o c k e t i n g and b u s i n e s s e s r e l o c a t - i n g i n t h e US & Mexico have c o s t Can- ada hundreds o f t housands o f j o b s .

The r e s u l t i n t h e October 1990 v o t e i n N . Z . was a l a n d s l i d e v i c t o r y f o r t h e o p p o s i t i o n t o Douglas & f r i e n d s . Maybe t h e y d i d n ' t have enough money; t o t h e b ra inwash ing t h a t Mulroney & f r i e n d s p u l l e d o f f , t h e y c a n o n l y ad- m i r e w i t h c h a g r i n w h i l e we c a n o n l y f e e d o u r r a g e .

I f you are p e r v e r t e d enough t o en- j o y t h e m i s e r y promised by Mulroney j u s t wallow i n i t when t h e s o c r e d s s tar t t h e i r e l e c t i o n campaign soon. ~ h e y ' l l s a t u r a t e t h e media w i t h as much b u l l s h i t a s anyone h a s e v e r s e e n and u s e eve ry s l e a z y s t r a t e g y e v e r t hough t o f t o con B C ' s v o t e r s . It worked i n 1986 when t h e y swi t ched B i l l Benne t t f o r B i l l Vanderzalm. So, i f you l i k e t o t h i n k o f y o u r s e l f as a Grade ' A ' mark and a s u c k e r , y o u ' l l v o t e s o c r e d w i t h your e y e s wide open!

Oh, and i f you d o n ' t v o t e a t a l l , you must t h i n k e v e r y t h i n g is j u s t as f i n e as p a i n t . What p l a n e t d i d you s a y y o u ' r e from?

By PAULR TAYLOR

Jeanette Campbell Della B

A CHANGING Two lectures by Dr. Sun Lung Kee:

April 12, 1991. 7:30 p.m. (Friday) at Strathcona Community Centre Ideology of Communism and Motherhood

April 16, 1991. 7:30 p.m. (Tuesday) at International House, UBC. The Symbolism of Yellow and Blue

Dr. Sun is originally from Hong Kong. He obtained his B.A. and M.A. in History from National Taiwan University, another M.A. from University of Minnesota and Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has done research at Fudan University at Shanghai and taught at University of Kansas, Washington University at St. Louis and Unlverslty of Alberta. Dr. Sun holds a teaching position at Memphis State University and currently touring Canada.

Organiser: Tiananmen University of Democracy Foundation Z# : X 32 B7 jc 83 &&&a Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic f m~E!ls?k83%m@

Movement % ~ S ~ B R % Z B ~ ~ @ Federation of Chinese Scholars and Students in

Canada

A series of movie presentations on laserdisc and video tapes sponsored by the Strathcona Community Centre and the TAMUD Foundation. It hopes to provide entertainment and to further our understanding on China.

The series will begin in April 1991, with four movie presentations focusing on the life experience of early Chinese immigrants in North America.

All are welcome. Free of Charae

Search For Roots

"Search For Roots" 330 p.m. on Sundays at Centre.

April 21. 1991

movie series: Strathcona Community

- ' Bamboo, Lions and Dragons National Film Board of Canada A Great Wall Director: Wayne Wang

May 5, 1991 China Mission: Chester Ronning - A Canadian Missionary (Part 1) National Film Board of Canada Eight Taels of Gold Director: Yuen Ting Cheung

May 19,1991 . China Mission: Chester Ronning - A Canadian Missionary (Part 2) National Film Board of Canada Dim Sum Director: Wayne Wang

June 2, 1991 To Be Announced

ATTACKING F I Z I C S o r

I HAD AN EERIE DREAM

I n a d a r k room I s t a r t e d d i a l i n n d

t h e phone, p i c k i n g a n e n d l e s s s e r i e s of numbers a t random. I d i d t h i s f o r what seemed l i k e y e a r s , when suddenly a s o f t , Nun-like v o i c e s a i d , "Transi- t i o n In fo rmat ion , May I h e l p you, p l e a s e ? "

"No," I s a i d . "I j u s t wanna t a l k t o someone. Where a r e you?

"Why I a m a t t h e f i n a l f u t u r e , " s h e s a i d , sounding h a l f s u r p r i s e d a t t h e

I t q u e s t i o n .... Where a r e you?" " I ' m a t home s l e e p i n g . I j u s t hap-

pened t o d i a l your number by mis take . T e l l me, i f y o u ' r e from t h e f i n a l f u t - u r e , w h a t ' s gonna happen t o t h e World c a l l e d Ear th?"

I I Le t u s s e e , Ear th . . . Oh, y e s , about 40 c e n t u r i e s ago H a l l e y ' s comet f i n a l - l y c rashed i n t o E a r t h ; r i g h t i n t h e middle of t h e P a c i f i c ocean, and t h e whole P l a n e t i s now e n t i r e l y covered w i t h wa te r nad f o s s i l f u e l s . A l l l i v - i n g t h i n g s were f a z e d i n t o a i r l o c k s a t t h e d e e p e s t p a r t of t h e aquaworld. Humans q u i c k l y adap ted t o l i v i n g under wa te r by deve lop ing t h e a b i l i t i e s t o b r e a t h e th rough t h e i r e a r s and t a l k through t h e i r n o s t r i l s u s i n g t h e 26 bubble system."

"When d i d a l l t h i s happen?" I I What y e a r a r e you i n now?" "1991." "Well, i f y o u ' r e s t i l l l i v i n g when

H a l l e y ' s comet comes around a g a i n , you should i n v e s t i n soem good scuba g e a r . "

"So t e l l me, i f y o u ' r e t h e r e i n my

f u t u r e , and I ' m h e r e i n your p a s t , and w e b o t h e x i s t a t t h e s a m e t i m e , which one of u s is i n t h e h e r e 6 now?"

11 I a m , " s h e s a i d w i t h c e r t a i n t y . 11 You a r e dreaming, and i n s l e e p t h e r e

a r e no t ime o r space l i m i t a t i o n s . When you awake, I w i l l no t have been born f o r a n o t h e r 4,000 y e a r s o r s o , and you w i l l r e g a i n t h e h e r e and now."

"Hold i t ! I f I w a s born 4,000 y r s . b e f o r e you, I would be i n your f u t u r e ! " ;

11 Nonsense," s h e s a i d w i t h s a i n t l y

p a t i e n c e . "Your s t a t e of h e r e and now is c o n s t a n t , whether you a r e l i v i n g o r i n t r a n s i t i o n . Hence, because I come a f t e r you, I w i l l l i v e i n t h e f u t u r e of your c o n s t a n t , n o t i n i t ' s p a s t . Got i t ? "

I go t i t a l r i g h t ; r i g h t between t h e s p a r e r i b s - I w a s i n l o v e w i t h t h i s v o i c e t h a t sounded l i k e a thousand m i n i a t u r e chimes, and t a l k e d w i t h t h e u r g e n t f a s c i n a t i o n of n e c e s s i t y .

"What a r e you d o i n g tomorrow n i g h t ? " I asked pangingly .

"Well," s h e s i g h e d , " i f you a r e awake I won't be do ing a n y t h i n g , bu t i f you a r e s l e e p i n g , you can phone t h e same number and I w i l l be h e r e . . ."

I woke up and q u i c k l y wro te down t h e m u l t i - d i g i t e d number. But t h e nex t n i g h t I was s o e x c i t e d I c o u l d n ' t g e t t o s l e e p u n t i l about 7 i n t h e morning. I c a l l e d bu t s h e w a s o f f d u t y by then . So I j u s t l a y t h e r e s l e e p i n g , f e e l i n g d e e p l y d i s a p p o i n t e d , when a l l of a sudden t h e most b e a u t i f u l woman imag-

i n a b l e walked i n and s a i d , "Sweet dreams." It w a s h e r !

A f t e r , I asked h e r how i t w a s poss- i b l e t h a t s h e , n o t be ing born y e t , cou ld be s l e e p i n g i n t h e f u t u r e and s t i l l be s h a r i n g t h e same dream a s me.

She looked a t me w i t h h e r e y e s gleaming b l i s s f u l l y and s a i d , "DO you r e a l l y want t o t a l k about t h a t r i g h t now?"

DEside J o e

LUCK EASE

S e a r c h e r s and t h e L e a r n e r s t h e C h r i s t i a n s ( t o o k i n d s ) t h e d r e a m e r s and t h e a r t i s t s

P e t t i n g t h e fawns ( t h e f o u n t a i n t o u c h e s o u t t h e h e a r t what i t ' s When t h e mouth s p e l l s o u t t a k e o f t h e s e I r e a d though I wish I

13. of y o u t h ) a l l a b o u t i t ) e a s e hadn' t

Hookers and t h e P o e t s caused a sLir t h e s e words o f y o u r s 1 ' m ndnmnnt

down a t t h e F i r e Rock t h e c i g a r e t t e s c r u s h o u t a n a n c i e n t cus tom s e t t i n g s u n on t h e mounta in t h e t a s t e o f t h e n e x t b r e a t h I make a s k i f f f l o a t i n g i n t h e w a t e r s t a l e a i r i t h JubaLee o u r l o v e we gamble Deer and a n t l e r s smacking i n t h e woods o u r l u n g s a t s t a k e s l am on t h e b r e a k s S l u g f e s t i n t h e g a r d e n t h i s h a b i t ' s n o t broken i t ' s s t o l e n

New words o f t h e s p e c t r u m , i n s i d e - o u t G h o s t s p a r a d e summon memory f o r t h Boo Rad ley , Rad-ly, r a d i c a l l y I knew I ' d need my n o t e s tower ing i n t h e d a r k n e s s Fred '11 Itnndy ' n W i l l i s and t h e o t h e r s Moonl ight o n your s m i l e ione t o Heaven o r H e l l I t o a s t s t r e n g t h i n y o u r c a r e s s Taum

Coun t-Down

w o u n d o f p a r e n t s ' s c r e a m i n g .

\ J i t h tlrc world f a c i n g c r i s i s a f t e r , I ih-s

o n so many f r o n t s today , i t ' s o b v i o u s what we need is a profoundly r a d i c a l change i n tile way we t l r ink , , t h e way we make money, our l i f e s t y l e s , p l ~ i l o s o p l i y s , s t y l e s of co~nnrunicat i o n , p e r s o n a l v a l u e s . . . j u s t about e v c r y a r e a of l i f e is sc reaming f o r clrange. Year i n & y e a r o u t , f o r a s l o n g as anyone c a n remember, t h e t r a g e d y s , m i s t - akcs & s t u p i d i t y s of humani ty keep r o l l i n g i n , & e v e r y r:ew d i s c l o s u r e is accompanied by ct c a l l f o r change. . . w e must change t h i s law, t h a t i d e a - w e must b r e a k a l d h a b i t p a t t e r n s . Our number is up.

So l e t ' s examine t h i s t h i n g c a l l e d " c l i a ~ ~ g c " - n o t s p a r e change - b u t a coln- pleCe t r a n s f o r ~ n a t i o n from which t h e r e is no t u r n i n g back.

Clrange a s t r a r i s f o r m a t i o n is a d e a t h - r e b i r t h p r o c e s s . When ti le need f o r change is i n t e n s e on many l e v e l s , a s i t is t o d a y , an enormolls & v e r y d i f f i c u l t d e a t h t o t h e o l d ways Ixxo~nes n e c e s s a r y . The f i r s t s t a g e o r clrange is d e a t h - n o t h i n g new & t l roroughly d i f f e r e n t c a n be born w i t h o u t he removal of t h a t which keeps i t from b e i n g born .

Wc s e e change a s t h e p r o c e s s o f t r a n s - f o r m a t i o n most c l e a r l y i n i t s o r g a n i c form. i t , . politician tt,iIlks can he use it to T r e e s & p l a n t s p roduce s e e d s b e f o r e t h e y get e l e c t e d , a poet th inks how can he a

d i e , salmon g i v e b i r t h t o new l i f e i n t h e wi th i t , a TV repairman is i mids t o f d e a t h . . f i g h t i n g t h e i r way up- p l e t e l y i n d i f f e r n t t o i t u n l e s s i t i n t e r - s t r e a m t o spawning g rounds t h a t become f e r e s w i t h r e c e i p t i o n , a t o u r i s t t h i n k s

l i t t e r e d w i t 1 1 c o r p s e s . The o l d form ex- p e r i e n c e s d e a t h b u t d o e s n o t a c t u a l l y c e a s e t o e x i s t s i n c e i t i s r e b o r n i n t h e n e x t g e n e r a t i o n .

Of c o u r s e we a l l e x p e r i e n c e changes i n o u r e m o t i o n a l l i v e s & a r e q u i t e f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e f e e l i n g of d e a t h when r e l a t i o n - s h i p s f a i l . We a r e a l s o f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e f e e l i n g of waking up newborn, w i t h a f r e s h s t a r t a t l i f e , when t h e a c c e p t a n c e of a new r e a l i t y f i n a l l y t a k e s h o l d . Coming t o t h e end o f o u r waking c y c l e e v e r y day ex - I ~ a u s t e d , we f a l l a s l e e p & l i e t h e r e as iE dead u n t i l awareness r e t u r n s t o open o u r e y e s & r e f o c u s them. I n t h a t moment, we s e e t h i n g s d i f f e r e n t l y - more d i r e c t l y - as c h i l d r e n migh t s e e t h e wor ld . IJe a l l go th rough a l i t t l e b i t of t h i s newness e v e r y morning of o u r l i v e s , b u t o u r f r e s h n e s s of p e r c e p t i o n soon f a d e s as w e remember & b e g i n t o repeaL a g a i n l e a r n e d s e q u e n c e s from t h e day b e f o r e , & t h e day b e f o r e t h a t .

I n a s o c i e t y composed o f economic ways o f t h i n k i n g , l e g a l ways o f t h i n k i n g , m i l i - t a r i s t i c & academic ways of t h i n k i n g , a l l k n i t t e d t o g e t h e r b y a n e l a b o r a t e t echno log- i c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e , w e must come t o s e e t h a t a p r o c e s s o f change as t r a n s f o r m a t i o n is not t h e same as making new l a w s f o r new c r i m e s , new wars on new enemys, new m a r k e t s f o r new p r o d u c t s , e t c .

We keep on b e l i e v i n g t h a t change c a n be c r e a c e d by methods t h a t thenrselves need t o be hcanged, b u t i t ' s c o n s c i o u s n e s s i t - s e l f - t h e t h i n g t h a t caused t h e s e methods t o e x i s t i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e - t h a t n e e d s t o change. Each i n d i v i d u a l ' s way o f view- i n g t h e e v e n t s of day t o day e x i s t e n c e must change. Nothing less t h a n a d e a t h & r e b i r t h of your own mind w i l l do - w e a l l must change o u r minds , even o u r s e l f - o u r a c t u a l i d e n t i t y must i n d e r g o a r a d i c a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n , s i n c e w e i d e n t i f y w i t h t h e way w e see t h e wor ld ,

I d e n t i t y is o f t e n assumed from r o l e - p l a y i n g i n s o c i e t y . A businessman l o o k s a t ct Lrec & C I t l k s how c a n he make money o f f

MAKING HAPPEN -

PROGRAM OF EVENTS

V O L U N T E E R S

MAKING IT HAPPEN o o

The overwhelming success of Carnegie comes from the contributions of i t s volunteers. The volunteer program i s the foundation, the very heart, of the Carnegie Centre. This year we honour a1 1 our volunteers and we pay special t r i bu te t o those of long term standing.

Thank you, Carnegie vo lunteersl

Di ane MacKenz i e Di rector

Muggs Si gurgei rson President, C.C.C.A.

4 E V E N T S - MAKING

Sunday, April 14

Monday, April 15

Tuesday, April 16

Wednesday, April 17

Thursday, April 18

IT HAPPEN - - -

Volunteers Party 2: 00 to 4: 00 pm on the 2nd floor.

lfMaking It Happen" Photo Display of Carnegie's Volunteers. 2:OOpm on the 3rd floor (cake and coffee). All Welcome!

Special Honoring of Volunteers at Cultural Sharing. 7: 00pm in the Theatre.

"Recognition Burgers" Free hamburgers for Volunteers at 4 : 00pm in the Concession. (TICKET REQUIRED)

Special Feature Cabaret 7:OOpm in the Theatre. Free coffee and snacks. (Door prizes. )

Annual Awards Luncheon Vancouver Hotel at Noon. Carnegie's Volunteers of the Year for 1990 (Seniors' Support Group ONLY)

Evening Videos In the Theatre. Free coffee and snacks.

MAK I NG

Wednesday, April

E V E N T S

IT HAPPEN o 0

17 Carnegiels Annual Awards Banquet Thea Celebrating Carnegie's 1990 Volunteers 4: 00 to 6: 00pm (Limited seating. ) Sponsored by the Association.

Thursday, April 18 Learning Centre Tutors Recognition 7: 00pm on the 3rd floor. Coffee and cake.

Friday, April 19 Volunteers Bowling Trip 1 : 30pm at Commodore Lanes.

Special Dance "ZaZa and the Limousines" 7:00 to 10:30pm in the Theatre. Door prizes and snacks. Sponsored by the Seniors' Support Group

Saturday, April 20 Pool Tournament (Volunteers Only) 10: 00am. Prizes. (TICKET REQUIRED)

Recognition Pizza Free Pizza for Volunteers. 5:30pm in the Concession. (TICKET REQUIRED)

he must take a picture of it, a plumber thinks its roots might slog up the drains - stupid examples, no doubt, but things like this shape our reality every day. So we can see how a believed identity.. .I a businessman, I a, a lawyer, I am a poet etc colours, if not actually creates per- sonal perceptions. Our state of conscious- ness is intimately tied up with who we think we are. There is an old Zen saying that goes

"You can't fill your cup until you first empty it", which expresses in a very sim- ple image the emptiness of death as a pre- condition of birth - refilling the cup - or, in effect, giving it a new identity. 'he cup outside remains, but its insides are removed & replaced with a new form of consciousness. Since death is the first step toward

change, we must consider the meaning of 'giving up' - both as surrender & sacri- fice. Giving away or giving up possessions, as difficult as that may be for most peo- ple, is nothing compared to giving up your way of viewing the world. But unless we

*, begin right now to do just that, in a big way, the problems we've seen so far will seem tame compared to the horrors we will pass on to future generations. If you are concerned enough to want to

change your state of awareness radically, the direction of focus you must take is down, not up. All those Christian saints - in religious paintings pointing up to hea- ven forgot about what was sacred right here under their own two feet. Images of Buddha point downwards towards the earth - shamans touch the earth & tra- vel to the centre of the earth in their dreams. A seed falls by grace of gravity into the earth to be reborn, birds return to the nest to lay their eggs. Returning to the beginning is a process of letting go - giving up - getting down. The return of an adult to a child-like

state of mind is a sure sign of transfor- mation. Every form of religion, every form of philosophy, & every method of psychological science points in one way or another to the importance of childhood as a state of mind.

As children, our view of reality is free of prejudice & preconception. Every morn- ing of our lives a little bit of that childhood is there in us, causing us to see things differently. We got that way by giving up, getting down, falling asleep & virtually ceasing to exist the night be- fore. Death results in rebirth. The re- newal of society our higher instincts long for can only take hold when the death of the old social order, which freezes us in the present, becomes inevitable. All forms of life flee from death or

fight it off, until it becomes impossible to escape. Only when the ancient process of transformation overwhelms us, do we cease struggling & slide into the abyss of unknown realities - that vast invisible potential which surrounds us & exists within us.

Human minds can die & be reborn in the same body, in the same lifetime. Such pro found change is our greatest human re- source. It's the basis of adaptation to new circumstances - the source of evolu- tion & survival. It can happen to you, but only when your present state of being becomes completely intolerable...when you just cannot put up with the way things are anymore. In spiritual traditions from ancient

cultures which were created to deal with these matters directly, there were always two paths to transformation; the long slow path, which was less dangerous, pro- duced gradual awakening through a progres- sive series of death-rebirths that requir- ed longterm dedication & stubborn persis- tence; & the shorter, more dangerous path which required a direct all-out assault by a passionate & totally desperate indiv- idual, resulting in one sudden lightning bolt of complete conversion. Re-arranging what we already have, no matter how intelligently or efficiently, is not hte answer. What is necessary is that many individuals dedicate themsleves to dying & being reborn in this lifetime, & to teaching their children by example how to do it in theirs.

TORA

- - -1 " v - 8 . --- --. . Della -- , , . B.Y ' /

I - Strategist I

SOCREDS MUST PLUG LOOPHOLE THAT COULD ALLOW BULK WATER EXPORTS

The socred government must plug a loophole that could allow the bulk ex- port of more than 40,000 acre feet of BC water to the U. S. - before a govt.

review on those exports is completed. Western Canada Water - because of a

unique deal it has with the ministry of crown lands - is the only company to escape the environment ministry's freeze of bulk water export licences. While other potential exporters will have to wait for the outcome of an environmental review, WCW will be free to continue negotiations with the US - giving them an unfair advantage. John Cashore, NDP environment critic

made this scam public. "The socreds have left a loophole big enough to steer tanker after tanker of BC water through. We need to see a thorough environmental review of bulk water exports first,and then a level playing field if these exports are approved."

1 l The environment minister must immed- iately instruct the Comptroller of Water Rights to apply the bulk export moratorium to Western Canada Water until the review is complete." Cashore says the deal with WCW has

far-reaching implications for BC be- cause it gives the company access to 43,000 acre feet of water from Link Lake - enough to meet the demands of 430,000 people for a year. "The socreds are suspending the litt- le guys, then turning around and allow- ing the biggest water user to possibly negotiate the export of tanker after tanker of BC water," Cashore said. "Western Canada Water has access to enough water to serve almost half a million people for a year. hat's a lot of water that could go south before we even know whether it's environmentally safe for BC." Funny that the identity of stockhol-

ders in Western Canada Water is legally protected. It'd be even funnier to find out how many socred (cabinet) min- isters are stockholders. -

By PAULR TAY1,OR

G O I N G DOWN

Every day I smoke 20 Viscount Ex t r a Mild, f i l t e r - t i p p e d c i g a r e t t e s . Purchased by t h e c a r t o n , t h a t c o s t s me about $1,387 pe r year . Considering I ' v e been smoking f o r 20 y e a r s - and more o r less t h e swe number per day - t h a t would be about $27,740 worth of c i g a r e t t e s s o f a r . D i s - count ing compound i n t e r e s t , t h a t would be

& G f ~ Q t @ ! ~ ~

(From A d b u s t e r s - Vol. 1 , #3)

' Tobacco k i l l s . We've known t h i s f o r two g e n e r a t i o n s . The m a s s i v e c o r p o r a - t i o n s which m a n u f a c t u r e t h e s u b s t a n c e c o n t i n u e t o wage e x p e n s i v e , b r i l l i a n t media w a r f a r e t o c l o u d o u r minds t o t h a t gr im f a c t . T h e i r s o c i a l e n g i n e e r - i ng h a s c r e a t e d two more g e n e r a t i o n s o f a d d i c t s - and c o s t m i l l i o n s more l i v e s .

fiut t h e t o b a c c o m u l t i n a t i o n a l s have , a l l a l o n g , been f i g h t i n g a r e a r g u a r d a c t i o n . l ' l le i r o p t i o n s have been gradu- a l l y d i m i n i s h i n g : c i g a r e t t e a d s were banned from T V i n t h e 70s ; f i e r c e a n t i - smoking g roups s p r a n g up; laws were pas sed t h a t banned smoking i n p u b l i c p l a c e s ; t h e number o f Nor th American s m o k e r s h a s d e c l i n e d s h a r p l y . I n Canada t h e versati le, c y n i c a l minds behind to- bacco promot ion were s tymied by f e d e r a l B i l l C - 5 1 , which s h a r p l y c u r t a i l e d t h e i r a d v e r t i z i n g a c t i v i t i e s .

But t h e companies s t i l l have a n ad- v e r t i z i n g s t r a n g l e h o l d o v e r magaz ines i n t h e Uni ted S t a t e s . They c o n t i n u e t h e i r image-boos t ing s p o n s o r s h i p i n s p o r t s and t h e a r t s . They know t h e y ' r e backed up a g a i n s t t h e w a l l , and t h e y ' r e g e t t i n g e x c e p t i o n a l l y d e v i o u s . L J i t n e s s P h i l i p M o r r i s V s i n g e n i o u s B i l l o f Kir,ll ts campaign, which t i e s t h e i r murderous p roduc t t o fundamen ta l i d e a s of f reedom and democracy. T h i s i s what you c a l l f i g h t i n g d i r t y . I t ' s t ime t o f i g h t b a c k .

enough f o r a down payment on a house i n Vancouver. Counting compounded i n t e r e s t , t h a t would be enough t o buy t h e house o u t r i g h t and equip i t f o r water Spor t s .

On t h e p l u s s i d e , I love what smoking does f o r me. here's no th ing q u i t e s o r a k i s h a s a man who s m e l l s l i k e a n o ld bus f l o o r , a man who rouses h i s sweet- h e a r t each morning wi th t h e f e r v e n t over- t u r e of m o i s t , t u b e r c u l a r hacking. The n e g a t i v e s ? Well, I d o n ' t own a house, and am considered by most people a f i l thy and c r e t i n o u s parial l . With t h e seven m i l l i o n . o t h e r smokers i n t h i s no t -so- to le ran t coun t ry , 1Im banned from a l l t h e n i c e r p l aces , and even some of t h e not-so-nice . ones. A i r l i n e s permit me no r e l i e f on a f ive-hour white-knuckler t o Toronto ( f i g - u r i n g smokers l a c k t h e s a w y t o disconn- e c t t h e smoke d e t e c t o r s i n t h e t o i l e t s ) . MY employers banish me and t h e f o u r o t h e r

in 40-person o f f i c e t o t h e s t a i r w e l l s where we puff c o n s p i r a t o r i a l l y f e e l i n g much a s I imagine l e p e r s might were they c a r r y i n g t h e Black Death i n t h e form of l a r g e l i v e r a t s .

We know i t wasn ' t always t h i s way. Once upon a cigarettes were endorsed by d o c t o r s , smoked by t o p f i l m s t a r s , g iven t o i n f a n t s t o make them s t r o n g , e t c . My dimmest memories a r e of being passed a r - ound b~ r e l a t i v e s smoking c i g a r e t t e s . Sometimes they burned me (not d e l i b e r a t e -

l y , I ' m s u r e ) , but t h e s ~ n e l l of c i g a r e t t e smoke has always c a r r i e d w i th i t warm, domest ic images. To me i t ' s t h e sme l l of people t a l k i n g , en joy ing themselves, and a c c i d e n t a l l y burning bab ie s .

We're being systematically eliminated.

These days, the current hysteria over second-hand smoke ("sidestream" smoke, I believe our medical scolds call it) in full wail, I'm not allowed near my two- year old daughter with a lighted cigar-

* ette. When I smoke in the car, passenger windows are rolled down with a political gravity that's never pretty in one's own family. Second-hand smoke kills, they tell me, smugly: what kind of hag-bred cur would put his own family at risk? Eyes straight forward, I exhale smoky obscenities windoward and try to figure

, out how Bogie would have reacted (before he died of cancer). I know of people who forbid my smoke

inside their pristine, yuppie abodes, lest it foul the fabrics or taint their overbred children (whose growth, general- ly speaking, needs a bit of stunting). There are people out there (vexedly scri- bling to me right now) with nothing bet- ter to do than to lobby for tougher fed- eral regulations to keep us smokers down. Not satisfied with the current crop of warnings on cigarette packs, they yearn for the Swedish approach (why do all of

I ~anada's schoolmarms prostrate themselves before the Swedes?) of placing cancer ward horror stories there, such as: WARNING: STOCKHOLM GENERAL HOSPITAL IS A NON-SMOKING AREA.

Genocide. Twenty years ago, more than 40% of western Canadians smoked. Now it's less than 30%. Cigarette sales dropped by about 7% in each of the last two years. A lot of this has to do with sadistic tax hikes (61% in February) and Byzantine anti-smoking laws. In the past decade, in every major western city, smoking bylaws have not only been passed, but relentless- ly amended to the extent that in some places, if one person in an office is a non-smoker and the rest smoke, the office must be designated non-smoking. This lat- est strain of "workplace'' regulations, like AIDS, emanated from San Francisco. em em be ring the earthquake, one cannot but help get the impression that God's a two-pack-a-day man. So, are we smokers manning the ramparts,

erecting barricades, burning babies? Ap- parently not. There have been precious few rebellions. A guy was fined $20 in Winni- peg after refusing to butt out in an arena while watching a ringette game in 1988. A few businesses here and there have been fined a few hundred bucks for failing to post no-smoking signs. And restaurant own- ers in Regina lobbied to prevent 50% of their floor space from being designated non-smoking, keeping it down to 15% initi- ally. Beyond that, nary a whimper. Smokers just don't appear to have the belly (maybe the lungs) for a good fight. The problem, of course, is that ours is

not the good fight. To argue that we have an inalienable right to fill someone else's lungs with noxious smoke and fumes is difficult. To admit to our addiction, emasculating. Intellectually, it's much easier to quit than fight. So all we smo- kers are left with is bullheaded belliger- ence. And in Canada, that sort of thing is probably illegal as well. So we cringe and huddle as our numbers diminish, wondering how many times we can be called revolting before we actually revolt.

By RIC DOLPHIN (from "WEST" magnz ine)

I)O\JNrl'OWII - - - S1'D CLINIC - Monday t h r u F r i d a y , 9am - 5pm. EASTSIIIE FREE P1EL)ICAL CLINIC - Mon. , Wed. & F r i . 5 : 30-7 : 3 0 YOU'l'I1 --- NEEDLE EXCHANGE - 221 Main , e v e r y d a y , 9am - 5pm. AC1'IVI'I'IES Needle exchange van - on t h e s t r e e t Mon - S a t e v e n i n g . SOCIETY N . A . m e e t i n g s e v e r y Monday e v e n i n g a t 223 Main S t r e e t .

N a r c o t i c s Anonymous (NA) m e e t s a t Dugout , 57 P o w e l l , 7 : 3 0 F r i .

1991 DONATIONJS: Oly(Sven) -$20 Plendel R.-$15 l l ea the r M.-$15 Ilerman L . - $10 C e - c i l l e C.-$10 Sandy C.-$20 ~ b r r y T.-$200 Brenda - $5 J a n e t B.-$20 L i l l i a n H . -$20

Cha r l ey 11.-$30 Cement E4asons -$ I75 Mar i lyn S.-$36 N E W S L E T T E R

Darren L.-$50 ~ I I m u s L m t R IS A ~UDLIUTI~N or n ~ c

F o r e s t Lawn -S20 CAWICII C ~ I M I ~ C ~ I I I ~ C ASSOCIATION

E t i e n n e S.-$20 Art lc l . . ~ * p ~ o m . a t t h e wl-wm *I I n J l v l 4 u o l

Nancv W.-$75 c o n l r l b u l o l . a n 4 r o t o l t h a Aae6c1ot lon .

A r t VL -$5 I:lllili - t l o ~ ~ ~ l l o ~ ~ s . s c c u ( t ~ u t ~ . Vishva A.-$15 27 A p r i l

C l t y 111fo a t a f f c a n ' t accept E l l e n -$5 d ~ ~ ~ m t l u ~ l o fur thin Neuelet ter , so

I f you con I le lp, f l n d Paul Taylor

at a114 he' 11 g lve you a r e c e l l ~ t .

.\I I / ; I l ~ o n h s o v o c y l ~ o d y .

b O 0:: bingo 6:30 Wed.

N E E D H E L P ?

D E R A can help you with:

fc any welfare problems A U I C problems 2 getting legal assistance +: unsafe living conditions

in hotels or apartments :: disputes w i t h landlords A income tax

DERA is located at 9 East Hastings o r phone 682-0931.

D E R A H A S B E E N S E R V I N G T H E D O W N T O W N E A S T S I D E

F O R 1 7 Y E A R S .

I n t h e s e days fo l lowing t h e c o l l a p s e of Communism i n E a s t e r n Europe, I n o t e tha t much of t h e w o r l d ' s p o p u l a t i o n , including t h e American S t a t e Depart- ment, s t i l l does n o t unders tand what Communism was. I hope t h e f o l l o w i n g w i l l e n l i g h t e n a t l e a s t News le t t e r readers.

Earlier t h i s c e n t u r y , company towns were v e r y common. I n a company town, the workers worked i n t h e i n d u s t r y , usua l ly b u t n o t always a mine. They - l ived i n houses owned by t h e company and paid r e n t , a g a i n t o t h e company for which they worked. - They bought t h e i r food a t a company s to re , o f t e n on c r e d i t charged against t h e i r f u t u r e pay cheques.

How many remember t h e mining song: "You load s i x t e e n t o n s / and what do you g e t / a n o t h e r day o l d e r and deeper in d e b t / S t . P e t e r d o n ' t you c a l l m e 'cause I c a n ' t go/ I owe my s o u l t o the company s t o r e . "

The "company town" s e t u p was a means whereby c a p i t a l i s t o p p r e s s o r s completely ens laved working-class famil ies and extended t h a t s l a v e r y from g e n e r a t i o n t o g e n e r a t i o n .

The v i l l a g e of Clayburn i n t h e Fra- ser Valley was one company town. The company w a s Clayburn-Harbison, quarry- ing c l a y and making b r i c k s .

The r i s e o f t h e Labour Union move- ment s p e l l e d t h e end of t h e company towns, much t o t h e d isappointment of c a p i t a l i s t s .

The Communist sys tem w a s t h e "comp- any town" approach expanded t o t h e n a t i o n a l l e v e l . The peop le a l l worked f o r t h e one company, they r e n t e d t h e i r homes from t h e company and e v e r y s t o r e they shopped i n belonged t o t h a t same company. One-company c a p i t a l i s m ... a c r o s s a whole n a t i o n .

I n t h e Company-town s c e n e a s i t took p l a c e i n North America, t h e few owners of t h e company l i v e d w e l l from what they could sweat o u t of t h e workers. The same was t r u e i n t h e S o v i e t Union and a l l o t h e r s o - c a l l e d "Communist" c o u n t r i e s . A few t o p pe r sons i n t h o s e owning companies l i v e d w e l l w i t h cav- i a r and n i c e c a r s and summer homes and t h e b e s t of e v e r y t h i n g w h i l e t h e work- i n g peop le worked and sweated and d i d wi thou t .

It was c a p i t a l i s m i n t h e S o v i e t Union b u t a r o t t e n s o r t of c a p i t a l i s m , worse even than what we have h e r e . Thank goodness Mikhai l Gorbachov p u t a n end t o i t .

By ERIC ERICKSON * * * well -fair

A FLAW i s a Fron t L i n e Advocacy Wor- ker.. .someone who h e l p s w i t h g e t t i n g t h o s e of u s on w e l f a r e what we ' re en- t i t l e d t o and a p p e a l l i n g d e c i s i o n s of s o c i a l workers and f i n a n c i a l a i d work- ers (known a s F. A .lJ. s ) .

FLAWs have t o keep on t o p of eve ry c a s e t h a t may expose a p o l i c y of MSSH as u n f a i r , t h a t may r e f l e c t a d e c i s i o n - ? i o l a t l n g a r e c i p i e n t ' s r i g h t s o r d imishes t h e meagre incomes even more.

FLAWs from v a r i o u s o r g a n i z a t i o n s a l s o have s p e c i a l i n t e r e s t s , and i n t h e s e a r e exposed t h e s u f f e r i n g t h a t peop le go through j u s t t o e a t and s l e e p e v e r y month.

FLAWs meet once a month a t C.L.A.S. (Community Legal A s s i s t a n c e S o c i e t y )

and s e e what h a s happened w i t h each o t h e r , what arguments have won t r i b u n - a l s , who is c u r r e n t l y being i n t i m i d a t e d o r t r e a t e d u n f a i r l y - be i t a n i n d i v i - d u a l o r a group of peop le w i t h common problems.

A t t h e most r e c e n t FLAW meeting, a FAW ( f i n a n c i a l a i d worker) donned h e r BCGEU h a t (union) and came t o d i s c u s s v a r i o u s areas of Income A s s i s t a n c e and p o l i c i e s and t h e d i r e c t i o n t h e s o c r e d s seem t o be t a k i n g s o c i a l s e r v i c e s .

- F i r s t of a l l , computers are now i n f o r c e and e n f o r c i n g GAIN r e g u l a t i o n s . An FAW no longer has t h e power t o use h i s o r h e r judgement i n many a r e a s . Th i s system a l s o a l l o w s them t o know w i t h i n seconds i f any a p p l i c - a n t has a p rev ious f i l e anywhere i n BC. It l e a v e s them wide open t o being monitored by V i c t o r i a ; any d i s c r e t i o n exerc i sed may l e a d t o d i s m i s s a l , as t h e socreds con t inue t o move t o remove t h e human element

A measure of t h e s e n s i t i v i t y of t h e m i n i s t r y ' s b u r e a u c r a t s i s f e l t r i g h t now by wheelchair-bound r e c i p i e n t s . MSSH has t aken a lmost a l l h e a l t h re- l a t e d i t ems and, on paper anyway, s a y s t h i n g s l i k e wheelchair r e p a i r s and i n d i v i d u a l p r o s t h e t i c s a r e t o be pa id f o r by t h e M i n i s t r y of Health. Lo and behold, t h e M. of H. h a s no system t o pay f o r i n d i v i d u a l i t ems u n l e s s they a r e p a r t of t h e equipment owned by an i n s t i t u t i o n . C l i e n t s have gone f o r up t o 7 months w a i t i n g f o r some sacred t o make up h i s / h e r ( i t s ) mind.

Home v i s i t s a r e on t h e i n c r e a s e a s t h e "random" s e l e d t i o n of names has inc reased . S o c i a l workers and FAVs have huge case loads , y e t t h e m i n i s t r y t a k e s a t l e a s t 2 workers every day and has them go around and check i f people a r e l i v i n g where they say. Parano ia runs rampant among s o c r e d s - t h a t people a r e a c t u a l l y s u f f e r i n g and

being h o n e s t , i n s t e a d of f i t t i n g i n t o f h e s t e r e o t y p e of "welfare cheats',!.

FAWs a r e being s u b j e c t e d t o v i o l e n t o u t b u r s t s as more and more people f i n d themselves a p p l y i n g f o r w e l f a r e . I n t h e 3 months s i n c e December '90 t h e r e a r e 20,000 more people on w e l f a r e i n BC a lone . Other "job" programs a r e i n t a i l s p i n s , as t h e p r i v a t e companies running them j u s t c a n ' t cope w i t h t h e numbers.

The Family Maintenance Enforcement Program i s being cha l l enged i n c o u r t . S i n g l e mothers have been t h r e a t e n e d w i t h no a s s i s t a n c e u n l e s s t h e y begin p e r m i t t i n g t h e government t o t a k e t h e f a t h e r o f t h e k i d ( s ) t o c o u r t . Th i s l o o k s reasonab le , u n t i l r e a l i t y c r e e p s i n . Many s i n g l e mothers l e f t t h e i r spouse due t o b a t t e r i n g and fami ly v i o l e n c e . Th is program f o r c e s h e r t o a g a i n come i n d i r e c t c o n t a c t w i t h t h e person they t r i e d t o g e t away from.

Another s o r r y a s p e c t of t h i s i s t h a t . once a c o u r t o r d e r s r e g u l a r payments they u s u a l l y d o n ' t come f o r months a t a t ime; a second c o u r t c a s e i s necess- t

a r y t o o r d e r payment o f missed month's and t h e mother w i l l g e t a s i n g l e lump sum. T h i s i s i n v a r i a b l y more t h a n t h e $100 p e r month t h a t G A I N r e g u l a t i o n s a l l o w and t h e M i n i s t r y t r i e s t o c l a i m a l l money over t h e $100 l i m i t EVEN I F SHE HAD TO DO WITHOUT IT FOR 6-8 MONTHS.

A s t o t h e d i r e c t i o n t h e s o c r e d s a r e going i n w i t h s o c i a l s e r v i c e s , t h e y have been moving s t e a d i l y t o an "e l ig - i b i l i t y " system, r a t h e r , t h a n a s o c i a l s e r v i c e system. The i d e a l seems t o be p rocess ing any a p p l i c a n t i n l e s s than 5 minutes ; ' y e s o r no' ... b l a c k o r whi te good o r bad' w i t h no g ray a r e a - no humap c o n s i d e r a t i o n s - a t a l l . Socred s l i m e w i l l t r y t o say t h a t a l l ' s w e l l wi th Zalm gone ... t h i s kind of c r a p h a s been going f o r y e a r s . L e t ' s bury 'em!

By PAULR TAYLOR

Car C l a s s i c ' s Coke Cru ise i..

S t e e r Clear of f e a r , ~ ) o n ' t look i n t h e rear-view mi r ro r

' cause then y o u ' l l know i t ' s t r u e For Uncle and Auntie C r y s l i e r too The whole 'uNIFARCAL' f o s s i l zoo You must se l l u s booze and c a r s , And roods t h a t could s t r e t c h from h e r e t o Marz! Immaculate motors and pavement promotors, I n t e r n a l combustion, ad i n f i n i t u m

I have been t o t h e Ise of dreams; ' where l i g h t be ings swam i n s t reams;

and dove through rainbow f a n s of w a t e r f a l l s and moonbeams. Touched a g i r l and melted h e r b r e a s t , -

' Read my name w r i t t e n wi th t h e r e s t , Played wi th b i r d s whose co lou r s took my b r e a t h , And watched t h e mi rac l e s of dea th . But never thought another 'd s e e , machinery of i n s a n i t y , Not from t h e o u t s i d e looking i n nor from t h e i n s i d e watching o u t But i n t h e same s e r e n i t y , t h a t s ense of i nne r p u r i t y , O f agnos t i c ma tu r i t y , t h a t s eeks what Love's about. By grace & f a i t h t o f i n d Tru th ho ly beyond a monothe is t ic doubt. Breath ho lds c e n t u r i e s . Death unfo lds immortal i ty . Thought a l l poetry. One brush s t r o k e e t e r n i t y . We a r e t h e b rea th of memory, l e aves of whispering g a l l e r i e s , Wandering empti ly sho re s of fancy f l i c k e r i n g shadows on songs of s tone . Seeming t o be born of pinioned v i s i o n , Seeming t o d i e i n fa thomless foam, Storm t h e c i t a d e l of heaven, Where t h e wings of l ove have flown > -

L i f e and Freedom peace and wisdom Love and Reason peace alone.

John Hussey

f a c t is , few people r e a l l y c a r e about what I say , except t o sometimes be of fen- ded by i t - & what I have w r i t t e n has made no d i f f e r e n c e a t a l l t o t h e r e a l s i t u a t i o n .

-- I'm s o r r y , Sandy - bu t t o s ay I ' v e made "an enormous c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e b u i l d i n g of a co rnun i ty a t CarnegieN is j u s t no t t r u e . . . I would have l i k e d t o do such a

) t h i n g , b u t t h e o n l y r e a l b a s i s of what- eve r "community" may e x i s t f o r u s r i g h t now is ou r mutua l poverty. To pu t i t b l u n t l y - i f we d i d n ' t s h a r e hard t imes we probably wouldn't even g i v e a damn about each o t h e r a t a l l . I n my op in ion , i t ' s o n l y because we s e e ou r own exper i - ences r e f l e c t e d i n o t h e r s t h a t t h i s s ense of "comuni ty" seems t o exist.

"A f i n e poet & a r t i s t " I may be , bu t t h e s e a r e s k i l l s t h a t can be developed by anyone who p u t s enough t ime i n t o i t , & i n my own case , t h e y a r e r e a l l y j u s t t h e re- s u l t of being r e p e l l e d by convent iona l s o c t a l a c t i v i t y s ,

Youtre x i g h t about a n e t h h g , though - t h e v a l u e of t h e t a l k f n g ~ t f c k T t h e c i r c l e i n which a l l a r e equa l , A l l I d i d was a t t empt b r i e f l y . t o show how much bet- t e r t h i s t r a d i t i o n a l Nqtive wqy of meet- i n g i s than t h e imported European v a r i e t y . . .p e o p l e s ay t h e y unders tand t h a t - bu t a l l t h e meetings a t Carnegie con t inue a s u s u a l i n t h e same o l d p a t t e r n , s o what i s t h e i r unders tanding r e a l l y worth?

DERA meetings, he ld monthly i n t h e The- a t r e , a r e a c l a s s i c e x m p l e of t h i s r i g i d agenda-dominated way of doing t h l n g s , a s a r e t h e monthly meetings of t h e Carnegfe Board & j u s t about every o t h e r formalized meeting he ld a t Carnegie.

When cha l lenged on b h i s po in t , t h e s e groups c la im " ~ o b e r t ' s Rules" a s t h e i r

I I men up t o your ass i n a l l i g a t o r s gu ide - Th i s i s a n enomous ly

i t t s hard t o remember your o r i g i n a l ob- complex old-fashioned r u l e book of I f p a r l -

jective was t o d r a i n t h e swamp" (anon) iamentar~ ~ r o c e d u r e " t h a t can be used by anyone who unders tands i t , a s an a r s e n a l

More power t o those who re fuse t o play the agenda game is what I say - i t ' s such hypocricy f o r these meeting f reaks t o pay l i p se rv ice t o t h e t a l k i n g s t i c k method . & s t i l l ca r ry on a s usual . One can only assume they do t h i s because they l i k e t o play games of power t h a t put one person 's opinion agains t another ' s , d iv id ing us up into "winners" & :?losersM. The person who gets t o be top dog i s a l w a y ~ the most s k i l l f u l game player - t h e bes t a t d iver- t ing, ignoring o r de fea t ing t h e ideas of others & press ing h i s o r her agenda for- ward t o dominate t h e scene.

These a r e the ones who a r e i n con t ro l of'rule-making a t Carnegie & everywhere e lse in a game-dominated socie ty . The hu- mili ty of a c i r c l e of equal human h e a r t s & minds i s beyond them. A s much a s they try t o "organize a community" - r e a l com- mon un i ty eludes them, simple because they be l i eve i n t echn ica l changes & ig- nore t h e obvious necess i ty of profoundly r a d i c a l changes i n the bas ic method of

I doing things. Such r a d i c a l changes can only come from a complete transformation i n t h e i r own personal s t a t e of conscious-

& of course they know t h e f i r s t thmg t h i s would mean would be t h a t they I ne?

I must g ive up power t o others . According t o t h e dominanf European mod-

' e l , which motivates t h e i r way of th inking t h i s would mean surrender t o " the enemy". Ottawa's method of deal ing with Oka was a c l a s s i c example of t h i s , but nobody r e a l l y seemed t o l ea rn any lessons from , i t , except maybe Native people who learnec only t o f u r t h e r d i s t r u s t Canadian soc ie ty - a l e s s o n they've had too many times be- fore .

There 's r e a l l y nothing new i n a l l of t h i s . "Business a s usual" is the s t y l e of i t , even a t Carnegie & throughout the so- ca l l ed " l e f t wing". When t h i s system has f i n a l l y "cleaned up t h e neighbourhobd" . & got r i d of t h e !%?wlif esr.&:malcontent b" who a r e t h e i r only opposit ton, they w f l l say they have c rea ted a "cormnunityo', but i t w i l l be t h e i r community, not ours.

TORA

Some r e a d e r s may know t h a t 1 ' m do ing a one-person Carneg ie programme aimed a t h e l p i n g p e r s o n s i n t h e Carneg ie a r e a wi th t h e i r TV s e t s .

A s t h e s i g n on t h e Carneg ie stairs s a y s , i f your TV set s t o p s working o r is even g i v i n g you a f a u l t y p i c t u r e , your b e s t move might be t o l e a v e a message f o r E r i c E. a t t h e Carneg ie downs ta i r s I n f o r m a t i o n Desk. I w i l l come around and see what I c a n do. I won't t a k e your set away.

T h i s is a v o l u n t a r y programme, based on a s t a t i s t i c t h a t of a l l TV sets s e n t t o TV shops f o r r e p a i r , 40% of them c a n be r e p a i r e d by b e i n g a d j u s t e d w i t h o u t t h e t e c h n i c i a n t a k i n g t h e back o f f - but s t i l l t h e set owner c a n be charged f o r e x t e n s i v e r e p a i r s . I d o n ' t t a k e t h e backs o f f them e i t h e r but I know as w e l l as t h e t e c h n i c i a n s , how t o c o r r e c t some wayward TV sets w i t h o u t t a k i n g them a p a r t and t h a t is what I do.

Sometimes. The s c o r e a t t h i s t i m e is 11 sets o u t o f 20 e i t h e r g r e a t l y impro- ved o r made t o o p e r a t e j u s t as f i n e as sets of t h e i r era cou ld be made t o work.

I n t h e Carneg ie area t h e r e are s o many v e r y o l d sets, t u b e models, hy- b r i d s , e a r l y S o l i d S t a t e s . Most of t h e few t u b e sets s t i l l working are RCA'S; d i t t o t h e h y b r i d s , t h e sets w i t h some t u b e s and some t r a n s i s t o r s . But t h e y , and even t h e e a r l i e s t - b u i l t "Sol id S t a t e " sets can be worked on, and o f t e n brought t o new l i f e .

The r o t t e n ones are Z e n i t h s and H i t - a c h i s , which are made t o be s e l f - a d j u s t - ing. They :-are t h a t - u n t i l t h e y go

out of adjustment o r whatever happens t o them. Then t h e r e a r e no knobs t o t u rn i r adjustment screws o r anything, even i f you t ake t h e back o f f . And then Zeni ths and Hi t ach i s prove t o be f an t - a s t i c a l l y expensive t o r e p a i r . Avoid them!

I ' d l i k e t o have a b e t t e r success r a t e than 11 out of 20 but w e must re- member t h a t some of those TV'S I ' v e been c a l l e d i n on were hauled ou t of Smi th r i t e dumpsters. I don ' t mind t h i s - goodness knows, t h e TV i n my k i t chen , I ' found i t i n a back l a n e wi th t h e txash. I brought i t home, messed wi th i t a b i t , and Voila! - It has worked w e l l f o r two years s ince .

Many a good, workable 'I'V i s s e n t t o t h e garbage dump because someone d idn ' t know how t o c o r r e c t what was wrong wi th it.

So... TV t roub le? Leave a message f o r E r i c E. a t t h e I n f o Desk.

No guarantees. No charge. Being on wel fa re myself , I know how important t e l e v i s i o n can be t o t h e Downtown East- s i d e i nd iv idua l .

thanks To Members of ' ~ a r n e ~ i e From Margaret Prevost

The next day, everyone who heard ab- ou t i t c a l l e d m e ask ing what they could do, and Jack wanting t o come and p ick me up i f I wanted t o go t o Carnegie.

It was a 'wai t & see ' game; a l l t h a t could have been done was done, p l u s g e t t i n g p o s t e r s up everywhere p o s s i b l e , and E r i c Erickson d id a l l t h e pawnshops and second-hand s t o r e s , making i t IM- p o s s i b l e f o r t h e t h i e v e s t o s e l l t h e c h a i r . Also another source of he lp was' O l i v i a S c o t t from The Province. It was he r s t o r y t h a t made i t p o s s i b l e f o r m e t o ge t no t one but two motorized c h a i r s u n t i l mine was r e tu rned o r rep laced . Thanks t o G.F. Strong and B i l l Reid of t h e Lookout to6.

It was overwhelming t o s e e our conun- u n i t y come toge the r a s a team.

My c h a i r was re turned (!) thanks t o 1 t h e a r t i c l e s i n The Province and t h e p o s t e r s everywhere. The t h i e v e s t r i e d t o s e l l my c h a i r t o an an t ique d e a l e r on Main S t r e e t . The quick-thinking s t o r e manager (Robin Brooke) go t my . c h a i r home. The t h i e v e s got away, but j u s t i c e w i l l p r e v a i l i n t h e end.

I ' m proud t o be a member of t h i s fam- i l y (Carnegie). Many many thanks f o r your he lp and support . I hope one day I can do t h e same f o r you.

Have A Nice Day! ( J u s t t o t h ink : My c h a i r i n an Antique

Store!. I guess they d i d n ' t r e a l i z e my c h a i r i s i n a c l a s s by i t s e l f ! )

: , MP

When my wheelchair was s t o l e n on Friday t h e 5 th I was t e r r i f i e d . I ' thought t h e world had come t o an end. r

But you know what kept me from f a l l - i ng a p a r t was~li1.e love , concern and support you a l l gave me. From t h e mo- merit we a l l saw i t was gone, t h e s ea rch w a s on. Bob, Muggs & Jef f went c r u i s i n g along Hastings S t . and t h e b a r s ask ing everyone t o keep an eye open.

B i l l Vander Zalm is gone. H e leaves be- hind him a government overrun by po l i t i c - a l chaos of i t s own making, unable t o carry out the peoples' business and do Something a s basic and e s sen t i a l a s pre- senting BC with a government budget. Let ' s look a t the impact of Vanderzalm's

long overdue departure:

* On the socred govt. : B r i t i s h Columbi- ------------- --- and w i l l now have

a chance t o take a c l o s e r look a t t h i s govt. without Zalm. What w i l l they f i n d ? A sec re t ive govt. , hiding t h e t r u e s t a t e of our province's f inances and p l o t t i n g behind closed doors t o t r y and buy re- e lect ion with your tax d o l l a r s . An u n f a i r government t h a t has fo rgo t ten whom they work f o r - they th ink they work f o r them- selves. A govt. t h a t long ago l o s t i t s sense of what's r i g h t and wrong. * On K----------------------------- socred caucua .& .par ty leadersh hi^: . en Vanderzalm resigned i n shame, re-

i fusing t o admit he did anything wrong, h'is p a r t y ' s board of d i r e c t o r s greeted him not wi th condemnation but with app- lause. When the socred caucus met a f t e r

/ his res igna t ion they responded t o media 1 quest ions about h i s a c t i o n s not with d i s -

approval but with s i l ence . When the socred caucus were given a f r e e hand t o choose a

I new leader , they r a l l i e d behind Rita John- s ton, Vanderzalm's staunchest a l l y who 1

with blind f a i t h defended h i s ac t ions f o r - the pas t 4% years.

* On t h i s e lec t ion : The e t h i c s of ----------------- Vanderzalm & ' h i s government can be judged by one l i n e

from the Hughes' r epor t on t h e premier 's conduct:,..the premier's problem stems not j u s t from h i s i n a b i l i t y t o draw a l i n e between h i s p r i v a t e and public l i f e but i n h i s apparently s i n c e r e be l i e f thay

1 no c o n f l i c t exis ted so long as t h e publ ic I wasn't aware of what was going on." That ' s

the legacy of Vanderzalm and may wel l / serve a s t h e epitaph of Soc ia l Credit.

When a group of people applaud dishonesty or re fuse t o condemn abuse of public t r u s t

I i t ' s time f o r a change of government i n 1 BC, A s one former socred cabinet min i s te r , sa id , t h i s is an el i t ist and s e c r e t i v e

government preoccupied with s p e c i a l d e a l s f o r i ts f r i ends .

I B i l l Vander Zakm is gone, leaving a govt. grown s t a l e and arrogant from too long i n o f f i ce . For B C ' s sake, they now need time in opposit ion - t o s o r t themselves out.

STRATHCONA STREETSCENE

C a l l i n g a l l S t r a t h c o n a r e s i d e n t s - and anyone else who admires t h e funky l i t t l e neighbourhood j u s t e a s t of Carneg ie Cen t re .

S t r a t h c o n a ar t is t C a r o l e I t ter i s p r e s e n t i n g a h i g h l y i m a g i n a t i v e v i s i o n o f t h e neighbourhood i n a n e x h i b i t a t t h e Vancouver A r t G a l l e r y .

1 t ' s a huge, room-sized "assemblage" o f thrown away i t e m s t h a t I t ter found i n t h e l a n e s , l o t s and second-hand s t o r e s of S t r a t h c o n a , e v e r y t h i n g from k i t c h e n u t e n s i l s and i r o n i n g boards t o p i e c e s of f u r n i t u r e and t r i m o f f houses .

The-whole t h i n g is spray-pa in ted i n g i l t - a n i r o n i c r e f e r e n c e r e p e a t e d i n t h e t i t l e of t h e show: "Where t h e S t r e e t s Are Paved With Gold: A T r i b u t e t o a Canadian Immigrant Neighbourhood"

1t 's s o r t o f l i k e t h a t g i a n t r e l i e f map of BC a t t h e PNE - t h e one where you c a n see a l l t h e mountains and river v a l l e y s . Only i n t h i s c a s e i t ' s a r e l i e f map of a n i n n e r c i t u neigh- bourhood.

I t ter sees t h e work as a c o m e n t on t h e excesses of consumer s o c i e t y . As s h e s a y s : " ~ h e s e u s e l e s s wooden art- icles, remnants o f o u r s o c i e t y ' s de- termined over -p roduc t ion , are f a k e gold and q u e s t i o n t h e s p l e n d o r once promised t o newcomers. My 'street ' i s n o t h i n g bu t junk, c a s t - o f f s from a

" c o u n t r y h e l l b e n t on d e s t r o y i n g n a t u r a l ' r e s o u r c e s . "

The show r u n s t o May 20. The ar t ~ a l l e r y i s a t Robson Square . Bes t t i n e t o go is Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 9 P.m., when admiss ion i s "what you c a n afford"!'

By MIKE HARCOURT

caught 5APR 91

I.