-NEWS LETT E .R 401 Main St1:eet, Vancouver. V6A 2T7 (604) 665-2289

DECEMBER 1, 2010

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http://harvestors.sfu.ca/chodarr

[Index}

Next mouthpieoe premiere-

Gordie the Horse should already be in the glue factory but he can't see that he's already dead. Even divine intervention won't help ... MiStY ChriStY (oh my!)

Citizen Psychopaths ~

They' re gonna kill us By murray dobbin

National governments have been back in the news over the past two years because of the financial crisis and the havoc it wreaked on the global economy. Belying the ideology that nations were obsolete in the grand new order of transnational corporations, they are now front and centre trying to save the corporations that supposed ly had replaced them. That is, saving them from themselves - from their greed, over reach, hubris and sheer incompetence.

Yet there is a disturbing silence about the ro le of cor­porations in the world as if these private institutions are someho\1 immutable - created by the heavens and something we have to live with, like the weather. We need to change our way of thinking because corpora-l ions are the Frankenstein monsters that will destroy the planet. No amount o f so-called "good corporate citizenship" or investment in wind power or electric cars will change this fact - the most important fact that the planet will deal with (or not) in the next century. Imagine what you will regarding what "we" have to do to save the planet. Unless we dismantle this perverse institution and rake away its power, the world will descend into another dark age.

Beginning late in the last century, corporallons estab­lished themselves in law as "natural persons," a bril­liant manoeuvre that gave these huge, globe-straddling giants the same rights as individual citizens. They, of course, are anything but. C itizens live and die; corpora­tions under current laws live forever. Citizens have wide-ranging responsibil ities that are the other side of their entitlements. Corporations are by definition "lim­ited liability" c itizens whose CEOs and board members are effectively beyond the reach of the law for the crimes they regularly commit.

They didn't arrive on the planet like this. We made them what they arc through legislation and court deci­sions and we can, if we choose, undo what we have done. It wouldn't be easy, but if we never imagine it. it will never happen.

Twenty to 25 years ago the world entered what John McMunry, professor of philosophy at the University of Guelph, has called the cancer stage of capitalism: "Prior to the 1970s, capitalism had been compelled b) the 'communist threat,' workers' movements, and a new electoral accountability to adopt preventive measures against its own internal pathologies." McMurtry refers to this system of social reforms and democratic responsiveness as capitalism's immune system. But with the advent of a new political consen­sus amongst the global e lites- the Washington consen• sus of privatization, deregulation, tax cuts, free trade and cuts to social programs - we have witnessed the explicit dismantling of that immune system. All of capitalism's "pathologies" have been liberated- sym­bolized by the phrase (and the movie) "greed is good." The revelations about the financial industry and the behaviour o f its princ ipal actors show how far the cancer has progressed.

Natura l selection UBC professor Robert Hare, one of the world's pre­eminent experts on psychopathology, has written (see his book Snakes in Suits) about how the new capital­ism and its ruthless advance has actually created a home for what he calls "sub-criminal psychopaths." When corporations want tough, brilliant "leaders" to help them compete and offer almost limitless wealth and power as a reward, they attract psychopathic personalities. Who better to lay off thousands of employees than someone incapable of feeling empathy or remorse?

But if the newest crop ofCEOs contains a goodly number of psychopaths, the organizations they lead were already and remain constitutionally sociopathic. Not only do these so-called "citizens" live forever, but

they are prevented by law- their fiduciary responsibili­ties to their shareholders- from taking into considera­tion the good of society, their employees or the envi­ronment. T he public good must be subordinated to the profit motive and the drive to increase shareholder value.

Of course, corporat ions are supposed to obey the laws in these areas. But while it is in the interests of real flesh and blood citizens to obey the law because other­wise they would invite social chaos, it is the interests of corporate citizens to break the law. This is so obvious that there is even a body of corporate legal theory that promotes law-breaking if it leads to more profi ts. Two University of Chicago law professors, Frank Easter­brook (also a judge) and Daniel Fischel, wrote over 25 years ago that managers should break the law if it is profitable, and if they get caught they should simply treat the ensuing fine as a cost of doing business. They weren't just talking about fines for double-parking their trucks. They were talki ng about fraud, corruption, pol­lution, price-fixing, occupational disease, and bribery­all "externalities" on the road to making a profit. This theory has dominated American corporate thinking for two decades.

The corporate drive for power over society is relent­less and the advent of so-called "free trade''- effec­tively constitutional power for corporations - has made things much worse. Breaking the law and getting caught is an annoying distraction. Why not get gov­ernments to sign agreements- like NAFT A- that give corporations the power to prevent governments from passing laws in the first place? Chapter II ofNAFT A a llows corporations to directly sue governments for passing laws which diminish their future profits. (These suits are increasing every year.) The Harper government wants to place simi lar provisions in CETA - the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement.

Before corponti~ns ruled the world How can we even imagine a world in which corpora­tions don't have so much power? It's not that difficult if we take a look back at the early history of corporations in the U.S. (forget Canada, we started out as a corpora­tion) . In those days, corporations were given their char­ters to operate by state governments. They typically had to have their charters renewed every year, had to demonstrate that they served a public purpose and could have their charters yanked if they couldn't do so.

In 1809. the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that if an applicant's purpose in seeking a charter ". is merely private or selfish; if it is detrimenta l to, or not pro~o­tive, of the public good, they have no adequate clatm

upon the legislature for the privileges." Charters were 3 routinely den ied. In 1832, Pennsylvania revoked the charter of I 0 banks, and in 1857 passed a constitutional amendment instructing legislators to ".alter, annul, or revoke any charter of any corporation. whenever in the ir opinion it may be injurious to citizens of the com­munity." The principle behind cha llenging a corpora­tion's charter was "quo warranto" - bv what authority? Setting up a corporation was a privilege, not a right.

Today applicants cannot be turned down for any reason - it is simply a matter of fi lling out a form- and most provinces have given up their power to revoke corpo-rate charters. These strict limits on corporations- they could only

engage in the single activity described in their charter -began to disappear in the late 1800s as corporations became more powerful. It was perhaps the first exam­ple o f the race to the bottom scenario: states competed with each other for corporate investment and their judges systematically e lim inated restrictions· on corpo­rate charters. They re-interpreted the U.S. Constitu­tion and changed the common law.

Killing machines Canad ians are not particularly trustful of corporations, but I get the fee ling that many people believe that at some point corporations wi ll actually see that things are getting so bad that they will somehow change the ir ways. In fact., this is literally impossible. The way they are constructed in law and in the economy they are constitutionally incapable of changing the way they operate. T hey are what they are. T hey are what we made them.

And you know they're gonna kill us. No, if we are ever going to save the earth from cli­

mate change, pollution, species decline, and the stark­raving-madness of the consumer culture we will have to radically reform the corporation. Anything less and we can kiss the planet goodbye. But that will be so dif­fi cult we might as well set our sites even higher & get rid of this dangerously insane "citizen" amongst us­one utterly unredeemab le and incapable of rehabil ita­tion. A good start would be to find a compelling case to take to the Supreme Court and have corporations' "natural persons" status removed. ..· "').>

~ 'w

A Community Forum on

Violence against Women Public Inquiry- Community Response

Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East

Jenny Kwan, MLA Vancouver- Mount

Pleasant

Ellen \X'oodsworth Vancouver City

Councillor

We invite you to speak out about critical issues on violence facing women in the Downtown Eastside. As your elected representatives at three levels

of govemment, we want to hear your concem s, and take action.

Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010

Time: !2:30pm - 3:00pm

Place: Simon Baker Room, Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre 1607 E. Hastings at Commercial.

\ For more info: 604-775-5800 or daviell @parl.gc.ca I

December ffh is the National Day of Remembrance and Action

(' on Violence Against Women.

BEGGARS GO HOJVIE

1 was brought up on the truth: "Never bit a man when he's down." Hence my dismay at the new City By-law: "No person shall panhandle on a street at any time during the period from sunset to sunrise." The term "panhandle" is a euphemism to include beggars, indigents, mendicants, bums, vagabonds, wastrel

stiffs, down-and-outers, ne'r-do-wells ... in fact, anyone 'who has no place to lay his head'. Today our streets, byways, public places, even some churches are out of bounds to the "outcast" reaching

out his hand ... Ah, let us cast a cold, cold eye on the hard of heart, so much at ease in their high places.

Sam Roddt

I,

It's so muddy it's becoming clear!

It's funny how so much information can be avail­able, yet 98 (well, lefs say 95) percent is from the same point of view and that its basic ideology is be­hind, in and ahead of almost everything that is deemed worthy of reporting, writing and talking

about. The disparity between those who have and the rest

of us is addressed as solvable or made palatable just by tweaking the elite capitalist system causing such.

Headlines or partisan reporting can fill many heads with the illusion or delusion that something major is 'in the works' , that ' things are turning out as nice people should hope', or most starkly 'there is no

alternative'. Remember that the victors write history books,

decide what, if any, story/legend/myth carries on and how. With the speed of technology it becomes dis­turbing to see stories re-wrillen on a daily basis, changing a premise, deleting words or adding phrases not present or inherent in the originaL lt is mostly accomplished by a highly sophisticated

system and network that has been functioning on a global level for decades. Titere are entire divisions of front-fUlllling governments and corporat-ions that deal with propaganda, know how to influence and destabilize many sections and interests in our com­munity and society. There are many companies whose sole purpose and business is to break unions, stall or stop political movements and eradicate fi­nancial and supportive interests.

It' s the wall that always seems to come up. A long time ago (20 years .. ) Tora did a Downtown Eastside :

cartoon that just said, "Why can't the~· ever get it 5 right?" The Woodwards development is a telling example, in that the hoped for social housing (both tltere and on South False Creek) are under a con­certed effort to diminish and/or eliminate. What is built very likely won't house anyone who partici­pated in the months'-long squat; all housing starts are of Ute condo variety with hefty tags and much of the boarded up and empty space so visible \viii not rent to or be used by low-income ventures or ser­vices for current residents. The poor are generall) seen as docile or finally defeated by money, money and more money.

Stories are biased and very off-the-wall when it comes to how much spin is put on conditions or pro­grams or events to make those most generally mar­ginal and/or despised- poor, single or single-parent families, anyone whose presence is unacceptable by dint of their race, creed, skin colour, sexual orienta­tion, economic situation, mental healtlt and hopes ­be portrayed as part of tlte problem - against mom, apple pie and the consumer way. ··Everything is for sale in this community" but any

desire for balance or just to be included as a stake­holder is not, apparently, even on the table of those making decisions. Right now, begun several months ago, both the police and fire departments are being used to spearhead a drive dressed in realistic sound­ing reasoning, tltat involves visiting and inspecting over 50 hotels in the area with a stated purpose to shut tl10se deemed not habitable, not up to code (fire or building) or. apparently, too much trouble to make right. On tlte surface this is perfectly plausi­ble, except tltat no thought is being expressed that recognises tlte obvious consequences.

There arc rules, regulations and bylaws that, if a new "immediate remedy" article was added, could deal with the lack of alternatives. Putting people on the streets- evicted ' for neutral reasons'- is the first step to making homelessness a crime ... or just an inevitable consequence of"progress".

Question everything and always ask " Who or what will this - whatever- serve?"

ByPAULR TAYLOR

levels of lead in the wells and cyan ide-poisoned work-If h uman beings arc not trained properly and ers in the San Martin mines in Guatemala, to the toxi-they do not have the necessat·y psych o-spiritual cally high levels of mercury, copper, arsenic and zinc strength -due to not following dharma- t hen in the bodies of Mayan communities near the Marlin their protest movement or mat·ch again st exploi- mine in Guatemala too, and the coercion and even the tation or fight against corruption will be useless. murder of anti-mining community members at the Mar-First you have to create proper human beings. lin mine; from the bulldozing of sacred Quechen In-And then they will be able to carry the responsi- digenous land in Cal ifornia, to the active support of a

coup in Honduras. the bodies are adding up. bility. Otherwise all your efforts and protest How much is $10 mill ion really worth? against corruption will be impotent and futile. Why is SFU accepting donations tTom a notorious

._ __________________ • B• a•b•a- .1 human and environment-rights corporate criminal? Why are criminal names on our public buildings?

Public funding not corporate funding! Keep corporate n a mes off p u b lic buildings!

In September, the office of the SFU president an-nounced that Canadian mining giant *Goldcorp* had donated $ 10 million to SFU. In return, SFU has re­branded its downtown eastside Woodwards campus, "The Go ldcorp Centre for the Arts." The Wood wards development has already been

widely criticized for its ro le in the ripple of rent­increases and gentrification in the Downtown Eastside. Adding Goldcorp's name to the Woodwards campus raises serious questions.

A notorious environmental, human rights, and colo­nial criminal company, Goldcorp is facing federal criminal charges in l londuras and has been involved in legal battles in Argentina and Guatemala. from toxic

These decisions about our public university should not be made beh ind closed doors! The problems of corporate funding in the university

are generated by the erosion of public education by all levels of government. Instead of accepting dirty$$$ university administrators should be fighting with stu­dents and communities to restore public funding!

On Wednesday. Nov 24th, the Visual Arts Student Union hosted a community forum in SFU at Wood­wards. The panel of presenters included a professor in Urban Geography, a local artist who lives in the ' hood abd has work all over the world. the volunteer execu­tive director of W2. the collaboration of many artists and groups occupying space in the development, a I 0-year worker at the Downtown Eastside Women's Cen­tre and a speaker for SAG Students Against Goldcorp.

Multiple aspects of corporatisation of universities, the whitewashing of blood money by these transnational c riminals, the structured atmosphere of desperatre pub· lie institutions increasing ly devoid of public funding taking "anything they can get", actual photos and sta­tistics and statements from people in places directly affected by Canadian mining compan ies, the fact that tak ing this money goes directly against the charter of Simon Fraser University and its Vision, fou r demands from SAG to rectify this situation and make the entire university an agent in dealing with offered donations (students, faculty and staff) and the4 damning fact given that members of the Board of Governors ofSFU were or are highly-plaaced executives in corporations directly involved in the very practices that Goldcorp is condemned for .

On Thursday November 25th, the Board of Governors met in private. But outside, students, teachers, and community members rallied for public funding of edu· cation, and against displacement of communities; to open the doors and take back the university!

Public education and human rights are not for sale!

Volunteers of the Month Laio n C heng, Kitchen; Dan Restoulc, 2nd Floor Receptionist Volunteer Committee Meeting : Wednesday, December I, at I :00 PM Classroom II Volunteer Dinner Due to the change of Cheque Issue Date fTom Decem­ber 22 to December 15, our next Volunteer Dinner is Wednesday, December 8,in the Theatre, 4:30pm SHARP! Your contribution and hard work is appreciated by the

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cdnuolt blveiee taht I c luod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinerv­tisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the 1tteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is tahtthe fr ist and !sat llleer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sit II raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if you can raed tihs psas it on!!

love and blessings'

Colleen 's Corner many people who benefit by your services. Let us serve you! Pick up your Volunteer Appreciation Dinner Ticket from the Volunteer Progran1 Office Our Monthlv Live Band Dance

..... featuring Stan Hl1dac Friday, December Jrft, 7 -JOpm Theatre VOLUNTEER CHRISTMAS PARTY

SEASONS IWEATINGS TO OUR BUSY BEE VOLUNTEERS. a hard working group of people who I am proud to work with. You are a caring, committed bunch who make my job feel like work worth doing. I thank you for this gift . 4:00- 6pm FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17, Theatre The real Santa is coming to the party just to see you HO HO 110 ( I told him you had all been good this year .... shhhhh ..... I didn't tell )

There will be dinner, enough sweets to put a gleam in your dentist's eye, a gift for everyone and oodles of door prizes. The Entertainment includes the very popular Morris Bates; " If you met Morris Bates in the Downtown Eastside today, you'd never guess the rounded 60-ycar o ld with the incredibly hoarse voice impersonated Eh Presley on the Las Vegas strip for seven years. Bates went from an early childhood with no indoor plumbi111 to become the second longest running performer in La! Vegas, to warning youth against drugs and life in the Downtown Eastside." Yes! It's true. He has agreed to join us to take part in showing our Volunteers apprecia tion at our Christnlas party this year. He even agreed It sing Elvis's Blue Christmas for you. If we are real nict to Rosie, she will join him in harmony .... a dream come true. Of course there will be a mystery guest whom I prom· ise you will be so happy to see and, if history repeats itself, will have you howling in your seats. lie has do~ it to you before; I just know he will do it again. Please write this date on your calendar- we don't want you to be left out! Please pick up your Christmas Party T icket from the Volunteer Program Office 7:00 - /Opm CHRISTMAS Karaoke with Steve in the Theatre

CHRlSTMAS DECORATING-For anyone in the mood to help decorate the building. please kn011 that you are more than welcome. In fact we need you: Monday Dec.6 Theatre I Oam-Tucsday Oec.7 Theatre 9am- l , Decorate all day Wednesday Dec.8 Theatre 9am-noon ...

Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) Newsletter

Pick up CCAP reports at: Carnegie Association Office Dec 1, 2010

Big attendance at Town Hall meeting shows concern about gentrification

"We really need a Starbucks on every comer."

"Gentrification is good because dumpster divers will get better stuill"

"There will be more people to rob!"

These were some of the off-beat funny comments made at an intense community discussion at a Town Hall meeting in the Carnegie Theatre last week.

But most of the discussion was very serious as about 80 residents grappled with what gentrification means (the process of richer people moving into a run down neighbourhood and pushing out the poor) and what to do to stop it.

At the beginning of the meeting, residents talked about the good things that are threatened by gentrification like the community, the acceptance, cheap stores for food and clothing, art, services for low-income people, amazing creativity of residents and the "good mornings" that you get on the street in this small town like atmosphere. One resident said that he likes the DTES because "we're not here trying to beat each

(Continued on page 2)

(Continued from page I) other up to make money."

Then Diane Wood read poetry about class divisions and media exploitation in the DTES from her book "The Soul of Vancouver.'' Dave Murray from VANDU talked about how "the word gentrification seems like one of'their' words, but the city hates us using 'gentrification ' because it exposes their

so call it ' revitalization."'

Tony Snakeskin was a Woodward 's squatter who now lives at Woodward's in the social housing. fie said: "I see a lot of it happening more and more, the rich people are moving in: art spaces, restaurants are popping up. A lot of us who are from here are getting pushed out. The services that we need arc no longer going to be here and that's what's pushing us out. Slowly our community is getting more and

more smaller." Later Tony said "we need a strong association so Portland and other agencies have to talk to us before they make deals with developers. We should not settle for crumbs."

Tami Starlight talked about li vi ng through drug usc, survival sex work and ho·w " [want to live here because this is the best neighbourhood that I know." She said she runs into friends who have been pushed out to Surrey. We need to "mobilize, join the DNC, which is a resident council. We want the most marginalized in our community to have the greatest voice, which is the opposite of city hall."

Richard Cunningham ofVANDU said that I'm really pissed off about this because there are so many talented people here who shouldn 't be pushed out. We are human beings, we are not sewage. If they arc going to treat us like sewage, then let's act like sewage and rai se a real stink!"

Wendy Pedersen from CCAP (Continued on page 3)

2

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explai ned that residents are being displaced from hotel rooms by rent increases due to land speculation, how zoning causes gentrification by making land more valuable for development and that city hall controls zoning. Fraser Stuart, a hotel dweller, talked about his experience going to city hall. "This is how it works: you go to council and speak and the politicians say 'We agree with everything you say,' but then they vote against you."

Here arc the things people said that could possibly save our community from being wiped out: 1. Cover up the statements made at

London Drugs with our own portraits

and statements about the impact of gentrification .

2. Push our vision for the area. 3. Rai se welfare rates so we have some

disposable income and can support the community stores that serve us.

4. Rallies 5. DNC 's fight for 10 sites campaign 6. National housing strategy 7. Rent and bus fare strikes 8. Harass developers 9. Organize I 0. Riot. l don't think the woman who

said this really means it but it is a testament to the level of frustration

and futility that residents feel about the situation.

There are some city planning processes coming up that residents can get involved in too, that may s low gentrification if our presence is strong and our message unified.

Stay tuned and stay in touch with CCAP for more information about opportun ities to speak to the city about this and upcoming actions. ~wp

Spec ial thanks to Richard & April of AliA Media for their photos and footage of the Town Hall: http://ahamedia.ca/20 1 0/11/20/aha­mcdia-at-gcntritication-meeting-of­vancouver-downtown-eastside/

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Downtown Eastsiders expose extreme wealth in the midst of poverty

A busload of Downtown Eastsiders and supporters descended on a $3 I million mansion under the construction in Vancouver's wealthy Point Grey neighbourhood to make a point about inequality toda}.

Carrying a mock hotel room, to show where many of them live, several Downtown Eastsiders sat down for I ligh Tea, complete with hats and white gloves, in front of one of Vancouver's most expensive homes, the $31 million, 45,000 square foot mansion being built at 4707 Belmont Ave. Two of the tea drinkers were dressed as a cockroach and bedbug to show that people who have to sleep in shelters or hotel rooms often have to put up with these creatures.

(Contmued on page 5)

''45,000 square feet is enough room lo r 11 2 nice sci r contained social housing units," said Dave Murray •vho is homeless and attended the demonstration.

"For $3 1 million, the owner could buy a nice house for his family and have enough left over to build 150 social housing units for people who are homeless," said Stacey Bonenfant, a mother o f 2 children who lives in the Downtown Eastside and who also came to the demonstration. The event was organized by Raise the Rates, an anti-poverty coali tion.

Organizer Wendy Pedersen said that new

epidemiological evidence is showing that unequal societies have more social problems. "Li fe 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, racism, sex ism, homophobia and voter turnout are a ll worse in rich countries that arc unequal than they are in countries with more

equality," she said. Organizers posted a giant letter to the

fence surrounding the property calling on the owner, who st ill remains a

mystery, to demand that the provincial and federal governments:

• raise welfare rates and end the barriers to receiving income assistance; • increase minimum wage; build 2000 units of social housing per year in BC; • replace the SRO housing stock in the Downtown Eastside with new units of social housing; and

(Continued on page 6)

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(Continued from page S)

• increase taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals.

" Inequality is killing us," said orgamzcr Dave Diewcrt, of Streams of Justice, noting research from Statistics Canada that says poor people in Canada have I 0 fewer years of healthy I iving than richer people.

"We want justice, not charity," added D1ewert. "These policies would significantly reduce inequality, poverty and social problems." Jean Swanson

Thanks to AI !A Media, Murray 13ush, Duncan and Tami Starlight for pictures.

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City planners aim to gently gentrify troubled neighbourhood

Crazy what you lind in old

TDOWNTOWN binders in the back of dusty old cupboards. This article from I 995 is very revealing. The city's plan

Rich beside poor for the DTES is to mix rich and poor, according to Sun reporter McLaren. In the cutlinc below the photo, it says that CCAP wants mixed housing at Wood wards.

Back then, this community DID NOT KNOW about the bad effects or gentri !ication. Now that

• City planners aim to preserve housing while gently gentrify­Ing troubled neigh­bourhood.

BY ROSS Md.AREN ~tnbut!tlg writer

Poor al'd ricb will live side-by­side in downtowu heritage build­ings if city p&.mcrs arc sucx:essflal Ill .mtaliziag V"ldbry Square.

The firsl 111:p towards rd>wkl· tag lhc dOWII-ttodden area be· tweca Rtchards aad Carrall Sm:eu bcpD Friday "'ilb lbc re· lease of a 41-page draft plan. Ciry planact Larry Bculey pro­posed four 'lllemes" 10 revitlllit.e I be area lie called "untque. • ,_ included:

• New maing 10 keep residents in existing buildings, mainly sin­gle """" oct" po1DCies or SRO<;

• Relaxed zoning 10 faeililate ·=patible" new clevelopmcniS;

• Preservation or the area's bcr· i1age and scale (ic, no high rises);

• And the enooangemen1 or ans ondculrurc

Woodward's is here we realize that new market housing (for the rich or middle class), even if there are some social housing crumbs next door, means: • Land values increase; • Rents and property taxes increase; • Rents increase in the hotels;

• Hotels close for renovations or sale; • More people are evicted or become

homeless; • Stores serving low-income residents

arc forced out; • Yuppie stores move in;

(Continued on page 8)

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• LO\\ -income residents face more harassment from security guards and police;

• The community fee ling changes and low-income people feel judged and uncomfortable; and

• The community power structure changes so low-income people have less power.

In the 1995 article, Beasley, former Director of Planning, calls for a recipe to gently gentrify our area based on:

I) Relaxed zoning to bring in richer people

2) ew zoning to keep res1dents in hotels

3) Preservation of heritage and no tO\.vers

4) More arts and culture Beasley's "relaxed zoning for more

condos" and "encouraging arts and culture" are happening in a big way. But both arc a problem when our land for social housing and the assets of the low­income community are not secure.

Beasley's preservation of heritage is definitely happening through city grants to developers who build condos for rich people in their heritage buildings. Towers like Woodward's and the seven 15 story towers potentially coming to the area west of Gore in the next few years will definitely speed up the forces that are displacing residents now.

Beasley's zoning to keep residents in hotels has not worked. l lotcl dwellers

an: being displaced through rent increases as the ·'/Oning" to keep residents in hotels docs not prevent rent increases or closurl.!s. The city is not setting aside enough land for social housing. Replacing the hotels will take 42 years by CCAP's calculation. About 1/2 of the low-income community is already displaced and/or already or at risk of becoming homeless.

In the New Year, CCA P, the Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood Council and other groups will sink their teeth into a new campaign. It will call for this Mayor and Council to buy or designate I 0 properties in the DTES for social housing as a way to s lo\\ the bad ripple effects of Woodwards and other market developments bclore the election in 201 1. It 's a daunting task. But I still remain hopeful when I see the amount of energy, spirit and unity among our people. Sec you in council chambers or in the streets in 20 II!! Wendy Pedersen

Pt_a..ce, L:'-1--e + Rf:.~td-~ ail 1 ~-t J.o11 cuvl._

~ -CCAP

Van city "Support for this project does not

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

8

Richard Wilkinson, British scientist who studies the impact of inequality, will be speaking at Carnegie on Tuesday, Dec. 14Th,

from 1 to 2pm in the Gallery on the 3rd floor.

Wilkinson has written books that call for more income equality and show that unequal incomes in developed :ountries are responsible for more social problems, shorter lives, s ickness, addictions, racism, sexism and more. Maybe he can help us figure out ways to get more support for increasing welfare and the minimum wage and taxing the rich.

Meeting sponsored by Carnegie Community Action Project (CCAP) and Raise the Rates.

Some thoughts on an important book ca lled The Impact of f11 equality: How to Make Sick Societies 1/ea/thier by Richard G. Wi lkinson. Routledge. 2005

Right at the beginning of his book, Richard Wilkinson says great inequality in wealth and income is a terrible injustice in MY society. He points out that in industrial countries like Canada or the United States, the average life expectancy is 5 to 15 years shorter for people in the poorest communities compared to those in the richest communities, and he says this is a stark abuse of hu­man rights. Death by social process is just as deadly as death by gunfire.

Over 40 years of research shows that poverty is enor­rrously destructive to the lives of human beings. Pov­erty is a major cause of ill health. Poverty is a major cause of poor performance in school. Poverty is a ma­jor cause of street crime and, along with dislocation, exclusion and family dysfunction, is a major cause of drug addiction. Wilkinson, an expert in public health, has used research on inequality rrom all over the vvorld to show how destructive poverty - Md the growing gap betv.een rich and poor - can be.

Wilkinson says that no matter how rich a country is (like Canada or the United States). it will still be sick and violent if the gap between rich and poor grows too wide. CMada is one of the most unequal nations among the industrial nations with regard to the distri­bution of wealth and income, and the United States is the worst. Poorer countries with fairer \>.ealth distribu­tion (like Greece) are healthier and happier than richer, rrore unequal nations. The nwnber of years people live is directly related to

how !TlLICh equality their country has. For example. Greece, which is a poor country in relation to the United States, has a longer life expectancy than the United States which is the richest and rrost unequal country with tJ1e lo\'Yest life expectancy in the industrial w<">rld. The oeoole ofl larlern. in New York Citv. live

shorter lives tJ1an the people in Bangladesh. When you rerrovc violence and drugs as a cause of death in Har­lem (symptoms of despair and exclusion), a major rea­son for early death is heart disease due to stress - the stress of Jiving at the bottom of society, the stress of disrespect and Jack of esteem, the stress of poverty, of unemployment and w1deremployment. Wilkinson says bad nutrition does Jess harm to people than depression. l11is book, The Impact of Inequality, makes ilie point

that inequality -the wide gap between rich and poor· is more toxic than poison. Low status, exclusion, and lack of control over one's life are destroyers of human healtJl and happiness. What a country needs is social justice, and social justice means reducing the gap be­tween rich and poor and eliminating poverty. Wilkin­son says that people are poor if they' re living on Jess than half the national average income. We are human beings in community. We need respect. We are highly sensitive to being looked down on, as Wilkinson points out. We are highly sensitive to being devalued, and to being treated as second rate. We want to be in control of our lives, and to live and work in a healthy community. Wilkinson writes, "lfwe want to understand why a larger or smaller proportion of vul­nerable people run into difficulties, we must under­stand how the wider economy and social structure damage more people in one society than another." (The lmpacr of inequality, page 100). He calls for a more democratic society in which everyone is included.

He would agree with these words by the American poet, Walt Whitman:

Of Equality "As if it harmed me, giving oiliers the same chances and rights as myself as if it were not indispensable to my own rights that others possess the same."

By Sandy Cameron

Families and kids at the DTES

Neighbourhood House: · Parents and children welcome to come to the l\:eighbourhood House at 573 East Hastings (at Prin­cess) for afternoon Family Drop In weekdays 3-6pm. Chi ldren develop nutritional confidence during our weekly Kids Community Kitchen, Saturdays 2-4pm.

Giving gifts at the holidays? Why not donate to the DTI:.S Nil in their honour, instead? $ 10 = I 0 Smoothies $50= I week's Grocery Coupons for 10 Volunteers $100 = 300 pieces of fruit for the Banana Beat $300 = 1 wee"-'s worth of food @ Programs $500 = I ,200 hard boi led organic eggs

PACE Society is our Charitable partner. For a Tax Receipt please make the cheque to PACE with DTES N II in the Memo Line and mai I it to 50 I East Hast­ings Vancouver V6A I P9.

Melanie Spence Food Activist, DTES Right to Food Thursdays through Saturdays Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood I louse 604 /21 5.2030 www .dtesnh. wordpress.com Administration: 50 I E llastings@ Jackson V6A I P9 Program Venue: 573 E l lastings@ Princess V6A 1 P9

Downtown Eastside residents working together since 2004 to build a grassroots, secular NH.

Ode to Bill

Casino rocking from sin, Romance in fur and pin Wine, song and gambling From everyone that rings. Loansharks abound to music Where fro lic abounds to tunics Sunset and the dice still go With the police not knowing beau. Prostitutes gambling fur and wages When mafia turns dropouts to pages When Gamblers Anonymous run You know it was all for fun.

.I 1

Mary Smith

Come for a tree portrait Saturday, December 4t\ 10-6pm

Carnegie Centre gymnasium, 401 Main Street

Help-Portrait is a movement of photographers who are using their tim e and talent

to give back this holiday season. hpeastvancouver@gmail.com

The Listening Post's 1 01

h Anniversary Celebration

y ou're invited t o a celebrat ion of the L iStening 'PoSt, made sacred bY your presence.

T en years of creating space fOr silence.

.-indow by Mareutri lt

• When: Friday, December 3 • Time: 3:00 - 5:30pm with a time to

gather and sha re stories at 4:00 • Where: 382 Main Street

BAH! HUMBUG! A STAGED READING WITH LIVE MUSIC OF CHARLES' DICKENS

A CHRISTMAS CAROLA BENEFIT FOR DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE COMMUNITY ARTS & THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE HEART OF THE CITY

Directed by Max Reimer, featuring professional actors including Jay Brazeau and Margot Kane & Downtown Eastside artists Roseanne Gervais, Stephen Lytton and Mike Richter

December 171 7:30pm1 December 181 2pm and 7:30pm Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre, 149 West Hastings

Dicken's vivid portrayal of the plight of community members displaced and driven into poverty during London's boom years has never been out of print. Not only is it a haunting ghost story with unforgettable characters and a comic touch, but Dicken's advocacy for social justice, ethical transformation and generosity of spirit are just a~

urgently needed today. Savannah Walling, Artistic Director, Vancouver Moving Theatre

Community tickets A limited number of tickets are available at no cost for low income Downtown Eastside community members and organizations serving low income Downtown East­side residents. Please contact Terry Hunter at 628-5672 for further information. Regular ticket prices for this fundraiser are $19 (students, youth) and $29 (adults).

Presented by Vancouver Moving Theatre and SFU Woodward's Cultural Programs in association with the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company and in cooperation with the Community Arts Council of Vancouver.

Advertising Rates

(Prices are per issue and all invoices must be paid within I (one) month of publication.)

Business Card: $15

[w x h) 1/. page (Scm x 10cm) $30

[w x hi Yz page (17cm x 10cm) $55

[w x h) 1 page (17cm x 21cm) $100

Ads may be submitted by hand or email to carnnews@shaw.ca

We reserve the right to edit content.

FOOTNOTES

I read the November 151h edition of the Carnegie Newslelter on-line. My eyes froze on the title "Re­membering Sandy Cameron by Rolf Auer ...

Sandy. Gone? I got up from the computer and stood a bit to let it all sink in ... The few times I showed up to help put the News feller together on the I" and I 51h, Sandy almost always seemed to be there. We talked. I read his work and a few times I phoned him when I was puulcd about one of his articles ...

On recollection. I don't ever remember any1hing nega­tive spoken by Sandy. Even when I admitted that I was rooting for MarJ.. McGuire over Sammy Sosa in the homerun banle, because McGuire was Caucasian. Sandy just said: "Really" in his quiet voice, with no judgement.

I don't think I could have uttered that to another li\ing person, and I've since learned to bite my tongue be­cause of his quiet, almost sad, reply.

One of the things I respected about Sandy's articles was that he always backed up his statements with foot­notes from his research. It's been years since I've seen Sandy and Paul, Muggs

and Bob, Catriona and the rest of the Carnegie gang, but I think in my heart that the old-timers at Carnegie are as grateful as I am ro have known Mr Cameron.

Garry Gust

T'was da night before welfare and all through da land Everybody was starving both woman and man Da m1nister of welfare was in bed but awake He was getting some soda checks they could wait

Then all of a sudden there arose such a clatter 'que pasa?" he yelled! 'saywhat? Waz da matter?• He jumped outta bed through da kitchen he ran Tripped over da cat and knocked over da fan

He looked down da hallway and what did appear? A b1nner a native and few of ther peers A t1red old woman her face full of woe Gave out a yell'hey cough up da doe!'

The mimster pouted '1'm sorry i'm wrong' But alas of course we've all heard that song He gave out the cheques and he passed out stale beer Then he sa1d with a sneer 'see ya same time next year''

Carl MacDonald

Curbside Haiku

Shards of broken glass Glittering in the morning sunlight eastside diamonds.

Lisa David

THE GOLDEN BIN

I pray this year that I will win The chance to dive that golden bin The golden bin it holds no tin l ias coffee brass and maybe gin It just might hold a dream or two A lotto ticket trips to the zoo TVs radios computers old There'sjust no telling \\hat it may hold

You'll know I've found the golden bin For on my face will be a grin A VCR maybe I've found A brick of gold maybe a crown One thing i know l 'lllind no dope The go lden bin has love and hope It may be thick it may be thin But still will be the golden bin

The go lden bin is full of grace It's full oflove for every race The golden bin is never locked The golden bin is fully stocked May be I 'II lind some boots or socks The golden bin it holds no rocks From the east north south or west That golden bin will be the best

Unlike the uncaring city tart The golden bin gives from the heart In sun snow sleet or rain It gives and gives with no pain The goose that laid that golden egg Knows that i won't need to beg No needles in that golden bin The golden bin someday I'll win

Happy holidaze Carl MacDonald

There are always a t least two sides to every story ... Spud had to move out of the Festive Rat Hotel. This

wasn't unexpected. The product of rural poverty, he really wasn't c ivilized enough to live in a Downtown East s ide SRO. He'd cataclysmically fai led the annual munici­pal room inspection, and met the inspectors repeated warnings of impending eviction with a gape toothed grin. Lilly the Dragon, our pyrotechnic landlady, wasn't so circumspect. "You go out now!" she blazed. The in­spectors did an about face and tried to come to Spud's rescue, but even they eventually wilted under the dragon's breath and Spud was last seen cheerfully trun­dling off to "subsidized housing for unhoused unhinged persons who make bad lifestyle choices" (Like living in the Festi ve Rat Hotel?).

The room he was thrust forth from was a sensory as­sault zone. l le'd neglected personal hygiene on the grounds that it irritated his ski n. In summer, when he'd left his door open and the wind favoured the south. his neighbours became pallid and despondent. Weeks after he'd left, the reek was still a powerful emetic.

The room's walls were coated with black tar. Like many b inners, Spud never spent money on cigarettes, but salvaged hi s tobacco from curb s ide butts. This particular blend. a fo rmidable concentration oftar and toxin, he ignited in a venomous old pipe. Even Xrays couldn't have penetrated his lungs.

The thing that struck me most about the room - after Spud had remove his most prized possessions and Lilly the Dragon had filled a large dumpster with the le ftovers -was the floor. You couldn't see it. It was buried under a drifting layer o f volcanic ash. I can only surmise that in spite of all the wonderful things he'd found and retrieved from the bins, Spud never had the good fortune to acquire an ash tray. Just another of li fe's little ironies, l guess.

PUNCHBOWL Now I know I've seen this show before, knock knock knock kick in the fricken door, !ley we· re cops & what we do we do right like a Somalian Whitespot Pirate Pack something is very not alright they are questioned for one whole hour that's a ll the info the investicops need; even if betrayed (yeah right) their futures as cops are guaranteed: cop I asks cop2 'why did you do that in front of people with cameras but they know people can simply disappear & we would not want any of that; now lock up your house & don't forget the keys to all the liquor in the drawers but the stairs and even the floors are fair game 'cause all thieves know they're certainly not yours anymore. Cops ike the night & the sun don't shine off your knees, they will help discard lifelong wishes & dreams then claim you' re a part of mankind's deadliest dis­ease; next up they teach kids they' re ready for the nic­est gang in town (kind of like filling in the blanks with hollow-point bu llets - enough to bring an elephant down); with such halfrnast apologies what's with the 3'd degree? Can't you see that I can't see at least you've found a place for me! 6 feet underground Let us figure out how this is right: c ivilian c lothes wrong address, pounding on the door at midnight.. soon warn ing shots are fi red into the back of the head the honest act in town is to lay down and play dead like beating hearts with clubs & spades, fill up that quota your evi lution thinks it has it made. Look close ly at lives taken & ruined now passing be­fore your eyes, belly up to the punchbowl of life and toast your own goodbyes .. the next morning very strange no screams whistles or cries. I think St.Minus

once said, ' If people believe it the truth is as good as a lie, from thuglite to copkill those who will talk of the futile fu ture's worst dream coming true. One day soon your harm bracelet shall ki ll again let's face it - you are not god but can taste it, beatings choreographed so well that those who live shall get their own show but boo hoo next night it's you that hears knock knock "It 's a Wonderful Life!" your watch says midnite o'clock if you're thinking back door there's a 50,000 volt bracelet shock, look my name's not Freeze let's ta lk BUT down go all the doors followed by you on all fours guns drawn triggers pulled blood pours your deathbed awaits unwashed floors (for now) once all is calm everything you had is theirs but hey you did get yours.

By ROBERT McGILLIVRAY

Dear PauiR Taylor, editor, Carnegie Newsletter,

I am writing to inform you that I have used the Car­negie Newsleller as a substantial document source in my doctoral research on the Woodward's redevelop­ment, particularly in investigating the campaigns for social housing in the site during the 1990s. The whole research project focuses on how soc ial housing emerged as a public issue through the efforts of the low-income community advocates in the DTES, be­t'ween 1995-2003. I accessed the Carnegie Newsleuer through CHODARR, a project with which I was also involved when I catalogued my other main document source, the Friends of the Woodward's Squat Archive. I regret I have not contacted you earlier to let you know that I was using the Newsletter, but they only recently formed a key part of my research which has now quickly come to its conclusion.

I am not sure if the Newsletter is protected by copy­right (and haven't noticed that it is), but regardless, I wanted to inform you that I have quoted and a couple of times reproduced larger sections of various articles. I have made all efforts to represent the various quotes

r01 ~ c. Jr ~ l J - c -c 1 '1;i9J JLJl

Carnegie Theatre Workshops Back for the Winter Season!

We'll put our ideas together for a holiday show. The best of- skits, monologues, improvisations,

scenes, readings,.

I pm- 4pm class/rehearsal December

Fri 3, Tues 7•, Mon 13, Mon 20 in the C arnegie Theatre *in the ]rei floor classroom

7:30pm Performance December Wednesday 22

For more info: Teresa 604-255-940 I thirteenofhcarts@hotmail.com

accurately and fairly, and to properly c ite the authors. If you are concerned with my use of the Newsletter, please let me know and we can discuss it. I can send you examples of quotes l have used, if you would like. I would also be willing and excited to share some of my thoughts on the history of the fight for social hous­ing at Woodward's with you or in the Newsletter.

When I submit the final version of my dissertation in mid-December, I will acknowledge what a valuable resource the Newsletters are for understanding (and being inspired by) advocacy and activism for social issues in the DTES and for the rights of low-income people more generally. The Newsletters provide in­sights into current and the history of political. social, and cultural issues in Vancouver, often lacl,.ing in offi­cial records. Thank you for all your work on this publication.

Susan Pell

Sincerely, Sue

PhD Candidate, Special Arrangements Simon Fraser University spell@sfu .ca

Hum101 Documentaries

First Saturday o f December is Poetry night DECEMBER II : Surviving The Cracks This is a very special occasion to view a documentary by Greg Masuda. With Greg in attendance for a dis­cussion of th is documentary recently shown at C ine­matheque . It is on action by ex-street kids to re-open a youth safe haven in Vancouver. **Followed by Jesse Venturea's Big Brother and Un­

constitutional the War on our Ci11il Liberties. DECEMBER 18:

Film Making In Our Community: Ten to fifteen short c lips made of our community, featuring our local Film schools. Followed by Simply Row- Reversing Diabetes In 30 Days. Cronicles six Americans with diabetes who switch to a diet consisting entire ly of vegan, organic. live, raw foods in order to reverse diabetes natura lly. The Par­ticipants are challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, packaged food and even cooked food­as well as go without their loved ones and many of their creature comforts for 30 days. THE RESULTS ARE AMAZfNG. DECEMBER 25: No documentaries; please join eve­

ryone for karaoke night a Carnegie Christmas tradition.

car·negie~ NEWSLETTER csrnne-o'/S@.cnbc ca

401 Mail SUe!ll Vancou\'1!1 Canada V6A 2T7 i604l 66~22!9

THIS NEWSLETIER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION

Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not of the Association.

WANTED Artwork for the Carnegie newsletter

• Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry. • Cover art- Max size: 17cm(6 o/.")wide x 15cm(6")high. • Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the • Downtown Eastside, but all work considered. • Black & White printing only. • Size restrictions apply (i.e. if your piece is tc;>o large, • it will be reduced and/or cropped to fit). • All artists will receive credit for their work. • Originals will be returned to the artist after being

copied for publication. • Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer Tickets Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor.

GET CLEAN! Shower up at the Lord's Rain

327 Carrall Street (just off Pigeon Park) HOT SHOWERS

(towels, soap, shampoo, the works! & coffee) Monday 11am-3pm; Tuesday 7-8:30am;

Tuesday 1-4pm and LADIES Onlv! Friday 11am-3pm; Saturday 7-10am

lei on parte Francais Hablamos Espanol

"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 torn down, other­centred men can build up."

Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

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

Margaret Meade

Next Issue: SUBMISSION DEADLINE

MONDAY, DECEMBER 131h

We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and this News/eNer, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory.

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