-NEWSLETTER 401 Main Street, Vancouver. V&A 2T1 (604) 665-2219

·'Put it on the front page!"

DECEMBER 15, 2010

http://harve~rs.sfu.ca/chodarr · [Index]

If human beings are not trained properly and they do not have the neces! ary psycho-spiritual strength - due to not following dharma* - then their pre est movement or march against exploitation or corruption will be useless. First fOU

have to create proper human beings. And then they will be able to carry the responsibility. Otherwise all your efforts and protest against corruption wi I be impotent and futile. -P.R. SARKAR [*universa/ity .. spirituality]

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 profess ional actors including Jay Brazeau and Margot Kane & Downtown Eastside artists Roseanne Gervais, St ephen Lytton and Mike Richter

December 17, 7:30pm, December 18, 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 t ickets are avai lable at no cost for low income Downtown Eastside community members and organizations serving low income Downtown East· side residents. Please contact Terry Hunter at 628-5672 for further information. Regular ticket prices for this fund raiser 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.

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II JJ I( v There is no worse~:t~e than to grieve your life in a

lonely empty room. - / I lenry George

r---------------~-~~--~--~------------------, Creative Pathways, a project of the Community Arts Council of Vancouver, presents the Neighbourhood Illumination Project. This magica l free event show­cases five festive illuminated artworks in DTES com­munity spaces. Come walk with us to see the work by artists Carmen Rosen and Jason Bouchard and resi­dents of the DTES. The walk begins at Victory Sq uare Park at 5:00pm and ends at Strathcona Community Cen tre. We will I walk by the Portland Hotel Society, Pigeon Park a nd Oppenheimer Park along the way. Performance by

the DTES's very own DEET Street jaZZ band. I lot chocolate and cookies at the end.

What: A walk celebrating the Neighbourhood Illumi­nations Project W hen: Thursday, December 16th, from 5:00-7:00pm Where: Start at Victory Square Pa rk and end at Strath­cona Community Centre SFU Woodward's and Vancouver Moving Theatre in association with the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre

Dear friends, I write to you in o rder to share in its entirety the state­

ment that was released to the media this week. 1 have included my statement at the end of this email. You may have seen some of the news coverage that has followed the release of this statement. After weeks of uncertainty, I felt that I owed it to you, our member­ship, and to the broader public to offer a perspective on recent events. The decision to release this statement was a very difficult decision, and one that I did not take lightly. I am proud to be able to say that, as a member of the

New Democrat Party of BC, the party's values are my values, and U1e party's principles are my principles. I remain a committed New Democrat, and I have been honoured to serve the Vancouver-Mount Pleasant con­stituency as an NDP MLA since 1996. During these 14 years, I have been through some of

our party's most challenging days, such as after the 2001 election, when our party was reduced to only two seats. Coming out of that experience, it is clear to me that we must learn from the mistakes of the past. I am resolved more than ever that the New Democrat Party is worth lighting for.

It's critical that we engage in a process of democratic renewal within our party. I believe that a one member­one vote leadership convention can unite our caucus and our party; and that the NDP will come out stronger than ever to take on the BC Liberals. British Columbi­ans deserve an invigorated, exciting alternative to the BC Liberals. The renewal process will energize our party, grow our membership and put us in fighting form to be in government. Each and every one of our party's membership deserves to have their say in who will lead us into the next elec­tion, and a democratic decision can be made through a one member, one vote leadership process. The statement below explains further some of my con- ~

cerns. I thank you for your support and look forward to r working with you to continue to build a strong and re­newed NDP.

Sincerely. Jenny Kwan

Statement from Jenny Kwan, MLA, Vancouver-MI. Pleasant December 1st, 2010

Seven years ago, with pride and hope in my heart, I nominated Carole James to be the leader of the BC New Democratic Party at the 2003 convention. Given the recent conflict within the NDP caucus, many peo­ple are wondering why I am part of a group that feels there should be a democratic change of leadership.

Because all NDP MLAs are bound by the principles of caucus confidentiality, it has been very difficult for us to tell our story, but now I feel compelled to clarify why I believe the best way to achieve democratic re­newal in the NDP is through a full, one-member one­vote Leadership Convention, which should be held as soon as possible.

Under Carole James's leadership, there has been a steady erosion of our democratic principles. Debate has been stifled, decision-making cenLralized, and individ­ual MLAs marginalized. Many are shocked

Equally dismaying is how MLAs then learn about these decisions through the media. This poor decision­making practice and a lack of genuine consultation within our Caucus is an ongoing source of frustration for many within the Caucus.

As well, for too long there has been a clear lack of direction under the leadership of Carole James. When­ever a challenging policy decision arises, often the de­fau lt position is to avoid taking a stand. The delay in grappling with difficult but critical public policy choices often results in making the NDP irrelevant in the hearts and minds of British Columbians.

This is clearly reflected both in the results of the last provincial election and in public opinion polls. While many British Columbians want to get rid of the BC Liberals, they feel that there is no positive alternative in the electoral horizon. A political vacuum is being created in BC. As a res ult,

we had a record low voter turnout in the 2009 e lection with the NDP receiving fewer actual votes than in the' 2005 election.

In addition, the polling tells a consistent story about Carole James inability to capture the interest and sup­port of British Columbians. At a time when the BC Liberal Party and the Premier's personal approval rat­ing have fa llen to all time lows, British Columbians

are desperate for change. The NDP owes it to British Columbians to present a

clear direction and a progressive alternative vision to the BC Liberals terrible record, but after seven years

Carole James has yet to present that vision. But that is not all. Worse than making no decisions is the concern that we make bad decisions.

I have served as an NDP MLA for 14 years. In that period, I have seen bad decisions made and poor judg­ment exercised from all sides of the house. The Liber­als are living that nig htmare right now with their Har­monized Sales Tax decision. While we in the NDP have rightly called for open and

transparent government, the financial deal made with our own party president Moe Sihota was not done in a transparent manner.

Back room deals should have no place in today's poli­tics. Yet Carole James knew about this deal and did not intervene. In fact, the NDP caucus was not even in­formed of this arrangement until recently . This was shocking to many o f us because engaging in such ques­tionable practices is a recipe for disaster. I fee l very strongly that we must demonstrate the highest of ethi­cal standards in order to earn the trust of the electorate. The backroom deal struck for the President of the party has no place in today's NDP.

This has led me to the conclusion that if we are going to form the new government British Columbians want, then we need change and democratic renewal in our party that is based on sound practices. And yes, that starts from the top. I did not arrive at this decision lightly nor did the rest of my colleagues. who also feel that it is time for a change.

British Columbians want more than an opportunity to vote the Liberals out of office; they want the chance to choose a party with an inspi ring vision and a clearly alternative, progressive point of view. If we are to demonstrate that we have learned our lessons from mistakes made in the 1990s, then we must not engage in practices that have caused so many British Colum bi­ans to lose faith in the N DP.

The time for renewal in our party is long overdue. It is untenable that 40% of caucus members cannot publicly say they support the leader. Carole James is dividing the party by stay ing on as leader.

The BC NDP needs to have a leadersh ip race in order to revitalize itself and to unify the party. We need an NDP that British Columbians can vote for with confi­dence. We need an NDP with progressive policies and a decisive leader who can communicate these ideas to the public.

Now is the time for democratic change and party re newal: it is needed, it is exciting and it is overdue.

5

Bad Hail" /Jafl

In the urban jungle, self defence is the law of the street, Rob or get robbed. Probably the only place in the world you can blow the smoke from your crack pipe into a cop's face and get away with it. Watch you don' t get poked by one of the uncapped rigs (syringes) that litter the streets and alleys. Methadone clinics that outnum ber Starbucks, o ne on every corner. North America's on ly safe injection site. They say it saves lives, or just postpones the torture of living like this. Is it really living? Who is They? Rock, powder down! Watch you don' t get robbed or stabbed. Welcome to Vancouver. The downtown eastside. One of the most expensive cities in the World in which to live, home o f Canada's poorest postal code. An open drug market on one corner. Pol ice station on the other. Anything can be bought or sold in the Zone. Free sandwiches and lukewarm coffee are not going to fix anything. Round'cm up and shoot them all says the red necked hick! Talk and listen say the n ice Church ladies n gents More of this, less of that, more cliches than Carter has pills, Carter has nothing on the corner of Pain& Wasting

What docs all this mean? What does anything mean? The papers say things are good, the numbers are down, the morgue says different, the numbers are up. Who to believe? Next they'l l be selli ng travel packages to Iraq: "see the s ites, fo rget how bad you have it back home!" A man 's actions are the creatures of his thoughts, and his thoughts are naturally the products of hi s environ­ment and the conditions under which he chooses o r is fo rced to live. Under certain conditions, sure as day follows n ight and night follows day you have the perfect breeding ground for criminals, addicts and derelicts. What goes around comes around, what you give is what you get. Those fucking cliches again. What does any of this mean? I see in the papers and on the news that Paris H ilton is having a bad hair day .....

Henry George

News ;rom -the Library What will you be reading over the holidays? I'm bound and determined to make it through David Goldblatt's The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football - a I 000 page history of the game we call soccer. I think there's a good chance I'll still be reading in the New Year. If you're still looking for a good read to fill some of the holiday down-time, here are a few selections from our display case: Let's start things off with a little ·60s nostalgia. Law­rence Aronsen's City of Love and Revolution: Van­couver in the Sixties (971.133) is a pretty thorough documentation of how the hippie movement impacted our then sleepy city. Covering everything from the club scene (anyone remember Oil Can Harrv's?) to educa­tion (SFU and Vancouver Free University). Aronsen, a long-time Vancouvcrite who was part of the city's hi p­pie scene, includes numerous rare photos in this de­tailed account. At around the same time, but almost 12,000 kilometres to the southwest, a much more notorious component of '60s iconography was playing out on the world stage. I' m talking, of course, about the Vietnam War. If you' re looking for a basic overview of a topic that resonates to this day (see Wikileaks and the War in Afghanistan, for example), go no further than The Id­iot's Guide to the Vietnam War (959.7). Now there are some who might argue that this was the text used by the administrations of the time to prosecute the war. I'll leave it up to you to read the book and decide for your­self. And, since idiocy is clearly on my mind, why not also pick up The Idiot 's Guide to the New World Order (666. Oops, I mean 366). If conspiracy theories are your thing, then this is the jackpot- an overview of the conspiracy that many consider to be the greatest of them all. You may wonder at the seasonal appropriate­ness o f this tit le, but keep in mind that many people are first introduced to conspiracies around this time of year. Mysterious North Pole installations, flying ani­mals, an immortal old man dressed in an arcane uni­form who is able to enter people's homes without their knowledge ... Sound familiar? Finally- this is the time of year when many of us turn our thoughts to warmer climates. Places like Cuba (917.29) for example. In the absence of an all expenses paid trip there, pick up this beautifully photographed book and spend some time with it in the library (where

temperatures seem to be at tropical levels these days). You' ll feel like you' re almost there. All of these books are in the library display case, and will be avai lable to borrow on Monday, Dec. 20th.

And for those of you artistically inclined and looking for something to do in the New Year, there will be a series of workshops in January on comic art and histor) given by local comic artist Gord Hill (author/artist of the 500 Years of Resistance comic book).

Check out the poster reproduced elsewhere in this issue of the newsletter.

Randy, your librarian

HUM 101 DOCUMENTARIES Saturdays in January 2011

Carnegie T hea tre 6pm JANUARY 8 OH CANADA OUR BOUGHT AND SOLD OUT LAND Ever wonder how the monetary system in Canada works? This one is made for Canadians. And THE CRIME OF THE CANADIAN BANKING SYSTEM: HOUSE OF NUMBERS A must see for anyone ever told they have AIDS. Find out what A IDS actually is.

JANUARY 15 THE COCA COLA CASE For many of you who missed seeing this NFB documentary at the central li brary. Also: Monopoly Men The distant Mummring of a Secret World Government. and Money Talks JANUARY 22, FINDING OUR WAY, a locally produced documentary. Done by Leonie Sandercock and Gerry Oleman. Pro­ducers to be at the viewing. A lso: WE BECOME SILENT: Big Pharma and giant food

1 companies with the help of crooked politicians and bureaucrats are limiting are limiting our access to herbs, vitamins and other therapies. Not allowing our food to be our medicine and our medicine be our food.

JANUARY29 FREEDOM THE T IME TO CHOOSE- PART I All about the global conspiracy and incredible sting being perpetrated on an amnesiac human race.

7 Comic Art and History workshops with Gord Hill

Writer/Artist of THE 500 YEARS OF RESISTANCE COMIC BOOK (Arsenal Pulp Press)

Kickoff Event: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - 7 p.m. Carnegie Theatre (or Learning Centre if theatre is closed)

A History of Comics A presentation on the history and use of comics for communication, education and propaganda.

Comic Workshops with Gord Workshops arc free and open to anyone interested in learning how to make comics. Pens, pencils, paper, snacks and drinks will be provided. Attend one or all workshops in the series

All workshops will be in the Classroom on the 3rd floor of the Carnegie Community Centre.

Sunday, January 16. 2- Spm Comic Basics Pens, pencils, paper and other tools to make comics. Concepts and types of comics (cartoon, graphic novel, comic, etc) Communications and story-telling. Pencilling and inking.

Sunday, J anuary 23. 2 - Spm Comic Design Page and box layout. Lettering. Perspective & lighting. Drawing people, animals, objects, etc.

Sunday, January 30. 2- Spm Comic Promotion Ways of having your comic art published and promoted. Review of basics and design. Presentations of comic art created during workshop series.

Sponsored by the Face the World Foundation

"You Haven't Heard The last Of Me"

Chief Katie Rich of Davis Inlet, jailed for evicting a provincial court judge from her community, spoke to a Newfoundland court. "When I was growing up," she said, "T was taught that this was lnnu land, that the [nnu have always lived according to their own values, traditions and laws. My parents taught me this. When I was growing up, I listened to the Elders. They told stories about threats made to them if they didn't send their chjldren to school. What choice do we have? When you look at the people in Davis Lnlet, you see bow your agencies have been involved in the destruction of our nation. Over the years we have said the same thing over and over, but it seems to go in one ear and out the other. I needed to do something. My children have the right to cx.ist as human beings. When we stand up for ourselves, to correct the wrongs, we end up in court. We are branded as criminals. I don't see myself as a criminal. My people have been crying for a long time. No one has listened. When I talked to my children, r told them that if the Court decided to place me in jail, I'm willing to make the sacrifice.

ff I had another opportunity, I would do it again. You haven't heard the last of me. We have the right to exist as a people. My grandfather never signed any treaty, yet we were pushed aside. But if you come to the community today, you'll see people are standing up, taking risks of being sent to jail. If we try to pick up the pieces, we realize the power we have. We will see more of this power."

Excerpts from Katie Rich's testimony before the Newfoundland Court, Happy Valley

1 Christmas Wishes

so many to choose from My favourite is Peace & Harmony . May everyone have a wonderful Hol1days May blessings come forth from our Creator If you take from our Mother Earth's forests Please give offerings to the Creator t Bless the forest with tobacco -Open your heart to the unfortunate o~~ 1 know that many of you have alreadj~ 1 just want to thank you all! ~=

Christmas & Happy New Year

m @

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ADDRESS MADE TO THE CITY PLANNERS OF VICTORY SQUARE (At Carnegie Community Centre, 5 October 1995)

the victory square concept plan while expressing noble intentions regarding "protection of the existing low-income population" amounts to just one more declaration of economic war upon the poorest and most afflicted urban community in canada I do not believe you are mean-spirited T believe you are well-intentioned and concerned and yet l also believe you know exactly what all this is really about if this plan declared 2500 new units of low-income housing with a faint hope to retain existing upscale accommodations it would be worth considering but a real community is involved here

and this community is located in a specific geographical area community by the way means 'in common' and what is most in common down here is shared poverty shared poverty

- which is a hell of a lot better than poverty lived in isolation amidst demoralizing wealth the downtown eastside community is primarily about mutual aid that is how we survive down here by helping each other and when we die here we attend memorials for each other and here we also share critical information by word-of-mouth which enables us to live in poverty down here we know each other we care for each other and the social services and religious organizations are completely committed to tasks of daily preservation of our lives in this community where there is also tremendous and unique creativity but this is a community in crisi s in extremis and I believe you know this so I suggest to you a new general principle to guide your findings and deliberations strengthening this community first and most of all by responding to its needs by malcing a new general principle a demand for an increase in low-income housing

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and social services in the victory square and downtown eastside area as city planners please help this city respond to the call of the city' s own health department for a dramatic increase in this kind of housing and these services you are city planners defend this community you know what is at stake the demolition of another skid row area? no this is a real live community a community already developed towards low-income housing and social services a commitment has already been made by the city by virtue of the existing low-income housing and social services so follow this development up don't destroy it honour this commitment before you plan for upscale invasions live up to what has already been started l1ere strengthen this area for the existing population be visionary city planners help us plan a comrotmity primarily but not exclusively for the poor and disabled and affiicted there are after all increasing numbers of marginalized human beings not fewer with no end to this ghastly production in sight and there is nowhere else in vancouver clamouring for group homes detox centres treatment centres recreational and educational facilities for the poorest and most troubled of our citizens but here here is their here is our commtmity design a plan that sees ahead to the displacement the suffering the grief the despair that plans like this if implemented will unleash down here substitute another kind of vision plan for this community plan for these lives don't make plans against us making a civic commitment like T am talking about would distinguish you as city planners and vancouver as a city

from virtually every other city in north america in its response to this same kind of situation I am pleading with you

I am crying out to you do not simply purvey best wishes fsr's densities and revitalization schemes the downtown eastside doesn' t need revitalization it is a live and vital conununity but it is under siege and it does need help so-called revitalization means a serious spiritual devitalization for this city it means hurt hopelessness and dislocation don' t do it don't make the mistakes other cities have made be city planners of hope and compassion and vision plan these qualities into your plan plan wisdom in you we all of us as a city need this area of the poor strengthened recently the financial post magazine announced that the downtown eastside has "15,000 people with no place else to go"

. . .

15,000 hoping dreaming breathing suffering living human beings but if you do not abandon your perspective the victory square concept plan will become a monument to defeat defeat of what it means to all of us to be a human being defeat of hope defeat of community defeat of possibility defeat of courage in our public life and capitulating to the market and money and power of a kind that is wreaking havoc and hell in millions of lives throughout north america let us stop this disgraceful process here let another word be spoken respond emphatically compassionately to this cry this plea this call or your victory square concept plan will become a monument of shame for this city make a really new plan your plan declares "the woodward's site ... would once again play a key role in the life of the area ... it would be ... the centre of activity, would define its role and image" your words are true only if woodward's is developed essentially

, ...

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for the needs of the poor down here if woodward's goes the way of upscale development it would be a death-blow for this community === and you are here today

:=:::: not delivering a plan for the improvement of a city --- but destruction of a community === I cannot emphasize enough that this is what is at stake --- so don't do it ::::=:::: Ias.k

that before you submit your plan you will search your hearts you will look into your very souls and declare a commionent to strengthen this community of the poor above all else

Bud Osborn , ·

A popular argument against socialism is that if you were to divide up the money equally among everyone on Monday, by tbe time Wednesday roiJs around, the money would be back to where it originally was.

George Orwell (author of" 1984")

A popular argument against capitalism is that the benefits accrue to an increasingly smaller number of individuals whose greed knows no conscience, passing the buck being apropos only of non-valuable intangibles like responsibility, accountability and honesty.

PRT

Downtown Eastside Neighbourhood House invites you to lite 3rd annual

SPLENDOUR IN THE NIGHT at Oppenheimer Park

starts 4pm Tuesday December 21st & continues all through the night

ends 8am Wednesday December 22nd A silen1: homage w our neighbours,

lighting up 1:he 1onge51: night Of the Year Wi1:h 1:he beau1:y 4- Strength

Of low-income DTES residentS Until then .. .

Tumeric Tumeric is very effective in bronchitis, productive

cough and asthma. One teaspoon of turmeric boiled in milk should be

consumed with a spoon of pure ghee (clarified butter) in conditions like bronchitis and productive coughing. This gives very good relief and aids in the expectora­tion of excessively produced mucus in the lungs.

Submined by Larry Mousseau on behalf of Rudolf Penner.

Whithering away in front of you. In 1935 it was a cof­fee and a cigarette that made do. Stale bread that was fed to the rats, people 's opinions that were matters of fact. Governments that were as stale as the bread, the people drenched from rain .. nothing to cover their heads. Skids and shacks lined what is now the viaduct. Racism and intolerance allowed to run amok. Trains and streetcars shuffled people here and there, as they looked out seeing the people in despair. Now as then people mull about, some seeking truth, most are in doubt. 20 years goes by so quick. When you live the lie of being on the stick. Some work at minimum wage, never being able for a house to save. Gouging by, bleeding from the bone, they work hard to pay rent for the home. Gouging by, bleeding from the heart, they tarry on looking for a head start. Make some sense of these few words - a little goes a long way and less goes unheard.

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Carnegie Village Choir Lives On After a very busy fall schedule performing in the Heart of the City Festival, we are pleased to announce that we'll be resuming regular rehearsals starting Monday, Jan. 10 from 1-3 pm in the Carnegie Theatre.

We will be meeting weekly with the last Monday of the month off. There will be some variation of this due to holidays and occasional event conflicts, but as a general rule we will meet 3 x every month with the last week off. We will be continuing to build a community repertoire, so please bring in your songs and stories. All arc welcome.

I look forward to a of song. Beverly Dobrinsky

I am very excited to be able to invite you to the Blues For Christmas 251

h Annniversary Celebration to be held on Sunday December 19, 20 I 0 at the Commodore Ballroom. Blues For Christmas has been a mainstay of Christmas

celebrations in Vancouver for the last 24 years and we have put together an amazing line-up to celebrate this land-mark event.

The designated charities for this event are the Down­town Eastside Centre for the Arts, Our Music Family and The Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society. We have attached our press release and poster for your

review. We are requesting that you post the poster and if you have a database that you can pass the informa­tion on to, we would sincerely appreciate your efforts.

We invite you to come and enjoy yourself with good music, good people and good times.

We look forward to seeing you there.

in peace, Dalannah Gail Bowen, Producer Blues For Christmas

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Letter to a Murdered Friend: .Johnny Bingo Dawson, 1957-2009

from Kevin Annett Dear Bingo, Your picture sits on our piano these days, and just now 1 was looking at you again as our fire sparkled and Carol and Sean Rei and I listened to Christmas music and ate sherbet in the warm home that you never got to know. Carol is working on a s tencil of that image of you, the

one of you smiling as you always did so well. We' re going to plaster it all over the walls of the downtown eastside next Monday, on the first anniversary of your murder.

Your corner is still there, but the messages people scrawled to you arc gone from the building, wiped away by those who want you fo rgotten. And you will be forgotten, but not w hile !live and breathe.

We' re all mostly scattered now, Bingo, since as you and 1 both know, when the best of us is struck down, a light goes out in every heart. I still see Clyde and Frank now and then, and we talk about holding some more rall ies, to remember you, and all those little kids. And then we talk some more. 1 wish I could tell you that the world is less stuck now, or that Harry Wilson is not still spending his days and nights in the bus cubicle at Gore street. Last week, as I walked alone near there, I imagined a ream of things to

te ll you, but they were all bad. And even though I am supposed to know these things, I can't say for sure where you are - or if you can hear me.

I remember you as unafraid, and of course that's what got you killed. I was there when you and Frank walked fearless ly to the front of the Anglican cathedral mass with our banner, even when the cops were on their way. I heard the sergeant tell you to stop your trouble­making - or else. But [ was safe at home, held by Carol and my own exhaustion, when they beat you so badly that you died.

Long ago, when I started conducti ng funerals, I used to drop what seemed to be meaningful thoughts on to the unsuspecting mourners: like, how our loved ones become that much closer to us after they die. I've tried to believe my own words, Bingo. But you are so far away now, and fading fast. Nobody talks about you anymore, except me. They're afraid to. You said it yourself, that day we sat in the sunlight at Main and Hastings and you surveyed the shuffiing, anxious crowds, and muttered quietly, to my regale of laughter,

'·Fucking barnyard cri tters." You weren ' t part of that herd, brother, but how you

still loved them all, even as you saw through them. You were better than me, in that way.

You loved me too, and you said so, that one time afte1 the fifty of us left the Catholic cathedral, so exhilaratec after our occupation. That golden moment on the steps of lloly Rosary, when U1e critters had fina lly turned the tables on the predators, and the cops ranted impotently at us. as we all laughed and cheered our victory: that was worth a li fetime of loss. Those glimpses of forever are what keep me going,

and you're right there, swimming in the moment with the rest of us: even with William, who overcame his drin king after our victory, for awhile at least, and who still today can remember his courage when he strode into the church of his torture w ith us and laughed, rather than puked, at all the pain. Something in that perfect memory, that fruition of all my hopes of setting captives free, stays with me, and it warms my nights without you and shows me where to walk through that dank and dangerous path we were both given to trod. At the memorial service we held for you at your corne1

after some of us had split off and taken over the street and freaked out the cops all over again, and marched to the church where you and Frank triumphed, and af-

ter the cops had shouted at us and Carol shouted back that they had murdered you, and asked them what happened to their souls, and they couldn't look her in the eyes, after all of that, Frank stood with me and gazed at the church, and he actual ly smiled and he said quietly, " I feel like he's here now." ' In the beginning was the deed, and at the end. For it 's

there that we come to know, and be known. So I' ll see you at the next church occupation my

brother Bingo. I expect to hear you rant long ~nd hard and loud, in my voice, and in Frank 's, and through all those whom you love.

It 's just the way of things.

·················· ···· ········ ········ ······ ····· "We will bring to light the hidden works·~·f ~~~~k~~;s

and drive fa lsity to the bottomless pit. For all doctri nes founded in fraud or nursed by fear sha ll be confounded by Truth."

- my ancestor Peter Annett, writing in The Free Inquirer, Oc­tober 17, 1761, just before being imprisoned by the English crown for ' blasphemous libel'.

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MY CHRISTMAS WISH l wannabe a Santa Claus for no special reasons Let ' s say, for just because That is so way cool, don't you think; I would bow to so much loving applause. If l could j ust be another Special Santa Claus .. ain ' t that for real -No more spending of cash and No more big worries about dine, and about dash. Could you be an elf, and one of my true blue friends & helpe rs? A time to forget all your problems and sorrows; to wish no more tears for all of next year! (don't get much better than that) And No more fuss in ' or fightin' yeh, no more tit for tat. Could this dream really be real could it all happen for you? Take my word everyone If we stick together, I know this crusade will come true. Merry Christmas, especially to you, 'cause inside yourself you are golden and just rewards will accrue. Gotta get my s leigh airborne, with my reindeer in the lead, gotta take care of our children who are in want and need Gotta make the world peaceful, calm, more hopeful and bright, So l bid you farewel l -and to all, good night.

Robyn Livingstone

Worthington Properties Linked to Organized Crime Syndicates

Since then, this has been an ongoing scandal for the Liberal B.C. Gov't. Why? Because Worthington broke all of it's promises leaving 200+ people jobless and an envirorunental devastation of a toxic chemical clean­up, wh ich has to date cost B.C. Taxpayers over $50 million for all associated costs to the failed Worthing­ton mill, including $4 million in unpaid taxes to the District of Mackenzie. according to its Mayor Stepha­nie Killam. If Price Coopers Waterhouse, the Judge and the Camp­

bell Liberal gov't did their due diligence they would of found that Dan White, was associated with B.C.'s most notorious underworld figures, including the Hell's An­gels, contract killers, Asian gangs, and convicted felon, Martin Chambers. And today we would have to pre­sume Russian Syndicate Mob. Dan White was the only board director at Worthington. He stepped down and fled to Russia. He was replaced by DragoN. Puskaric (interestingly in slavic his last name means ''rifle". He is supposedly located in Slovenia). Wally Oppal, Pat Bell, the Liberal Atlorney's General's

office and the Forest Ministry said they were person­ally holding Dan White responsible. It looks like they

Worthington Properties owns the Pantages theatre and the adjacent propert ies up to the Brandiz bar in our Downtown Eastside. According to the Vancouver Sun, Marc Williams is the point man for Worthington Prop­erties in Vancouver. Worthington has given our com­munity 30 days to come up with $6.5 million to buy the properties, or they'll build Condos. Literally puning a stake into the Heart of Our community or, as a com­munity member put it, it's like a bomb hitting our hood but also symbolically breaking our hearts. As you are reading this the time has elapsed.

1 will have to go on a dangerous wild goose chase to Slovenia and Russia.

The story of Worthington properties, however. goes back to the shady developer, Dan White. 1

The media at times refer to White as the owner of Wor- I thington. Mr. White now claims that he is only the point man for the developer (he was also president and ceo). Dan White is missing, last heard fleeing toRus­sia. Pursuing Mr White and Worthington properties, is like going on a dangerous wild goose chase, but here goes ..

Part of " Dan White's" Worthington Group of compa­nies, is Worthington Mackenzie. In 2008, Worthington bought a distressed pulp mill, north of Prince Rupert. B.C. For $6.5 million in receivership from Price Coop­ers Waterhouse, with court & provincial gov't approval.

To make matters worse and all too clear, in March of 2009, Worthington properties headquarters in Edmon­ton. AB were deliberately set on fire, according to Ed­monton police. In April, 2009 an arrest was made for arson, one Michcal O'Reilly, 54 a known associate of Worthington properties was charged.

Mr White and Worthington properties specialized in distressed property. They got into the Downtown East­s ide Vancouver by developing and gentrifying the Ko­ret Lofts at 55 East Cordova into elite condos . They also bought the Pantages theatre, next to the Regent hotel, the place made infamous by the murder of 22 year o ld Ash ley Machiskinic, presumably by gang vio· lence (thrown out of the 5'11 floor window). In the 1990s, Mr. White was the prime target of a joint Vancouver police-RCMP investigation into a vicious criminal gang. The F.B.I. was also part of the investi­gation. White was convicted for money laundering, illegal liquor and cigarette smuggling and sales. White received a slap on the wrist, paid a fine of$267,000 and served no time.

Others found to be "partners" in the ring were, one James Markovitch, a self-proclaimed " Godfather" of

Vancouver's Underworld, two well known contract killers, the Hell's Angels and Asian gang associates. White claimed afterwards to have turned his back on that page of his life, also saying he did not know all the players or how deeply it went.

To this date Worthington properties or its associated companies has not been held accountable by the pro­vincial gov't. Worthington without question is playing a criminal shell game with its associated companies, and should be exposed and held legally and morally accountable.

*What the provincial government and the City of Van­couver gov't needs to do is purchase this property out­right from Worthington for $4.5 million or less, and build our community I 00% affordable social housing on that site. You can even throw in a community pool. That's what we call Revitalization of the Downtown Eastside.

You need to do right by our community. We do not deserve crumbs but the poor and working poor should have the whole loaf of bread to share in.

To further gentri fy our community and neighborhood by building more condos would make developers, the Provincial Government and the City of Vancouver partners in crime with known Organized Crime Syndi­cates. Our Community seeks Justice. We demand it. The time to act is now!

By Anonymous Zero Thank you Editor, Hope you have a Peaceful and Ful­filling holiday season. AZ

Thanks> and if you can keep on this theme all the bet­ter. Research how Li Ka-Shing made his money - the billionaire from I long Kong who came through just after Expo 86 and bought the Bank ofBC, then the expo lands themselves. All the highrises around Ter­minal & Main are from his initial steal at peanuts prices. His son is Terry Hui (I think) who is also a bil­lionaire .. also the owne r of Concord Pacific .. and also into gentrifying the Downtown of Vancouver. Back when Campbell (Gord) was mayor of Van, there was this "exciting idea" (Gord drooling)) at making Van-couver totally an Executive City!!!! ....... ! where you'd have to be a millionaire to live. With the price of con­dos, it's going that way .

I'm sure there are other slimeballs who've already divided up the spoils of the DTES. After us inconven­ient people are dealt with, they can begin truly pioneer­ing. Or so their witch doctors keep telling them after shaking rats' bones in a hollow gourd, throwing them and reading all the mystical nonsense these twerps be­lieve about their 'masters of the uni verse' crud.

PauiR Taylor, editor. [Crud: A synonym for the English word used to describe the product of a bull's bowel movement.)

I came from crazy rreakin Flin Flon Where dealing hard drugs made you a con But here a Carnegie All the dealers you see Can sell their poison, and it's a bad trip

There oughta be a law, Against spending 500 million dollars on a roof that won't close in the rain, does it open in the sunshine?

There oughta be a law, Against poli ticians spending I bil lion and more dollars building a village that no one can afford to live in.

There oughta be a law, For the homeless to housed.

There oughta be a law, Against politicians retiring and then governing for the next 6 months.

There oughta be a law, Against an old senile hard right po litician coming out of retirement, fantastic.

There oughta be a law, Against drug dealers selling right in front of the Carnegie, where will they go? Jail!!

Who was Ulysses in Ulysses? Whatever happened to Mal come Lowry? Spider Robinson, where is he now? I low many pages in War and Peace? Has anyone read it? Who lives at Broken Arrow?

Translate this, I 0 megabytes + I 0 gigabyte tetrabytes + 10 zigabites= who cares

Canadian Politics Conservatives, really bad hair. Liberals, Mr. Ignominious NDP, looks good, talks good, wrong party

American Politics

Democrats, getting grey, looking old Re­publicans, getting scary, looking crazy Communists, DOA

I was ta lking to a friend, he could remember Camegie when it was a museum in the mid fift ies. He said it was a nicer neighborhood back then. I asked him if he was worried about gentrification, he said "maybe it will be a nicer neighborhood then" maybe it will, where will they go? decent housing.

McMurty

A loneliness that has taken on substance, a form of its own The past you can't change The future you can't get to The present an I 0 U that cannot be validated, collected on or cashed in. No reflection, no echo, no smell or taste No one to notice me missing or even care. Is that Fate or just something to blame. another excuse. I didn't do it. it wasn't me, he made me do it, not me Later, to-morrow. someday .... All of this does not have to be With an I and a H and get rid of the E. The word now spells FAITH. That is all you really need

I !enry George

. • th Next Issue is January 15 , 2011

Caf"'negie (:. NEWSLETTER wnr.ews@vcnocca

401 i.4a.n Street IJan<:OUVer Canada V6A 2TI (6041 665-2289

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 artides and poetry .

. ; Cover art- Max size: 17cm(6 W)wide x 15cm(6")high. • Subjed 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 too 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

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" I have the audacity to believe that people every­where can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, dignity, eq­uality and justice for their spirits. I believe that what self-centred men have 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

Wednesday, January 1ih.

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