To the Public Meeting (which I can't attend)

When I moved into the neighbourhood about seven years ago, I realized the multi-level communities that existed here had room for me. As an artist and healer, I came to know folks from all walks of life who had drifted down here and were struggling to survive.

  I came to have a lot of respect for the working women, and the fate of quite a few I have known has grieved me and made me more cautious for sure.

   What really scares me, though, are not the dealers and the desperate addicts and sick people, who have come to know me, that I am not a customer or a player but a neighbour who will exchange a greeting  and help if I can. They don't want to see my ID or know where I am going.  It is the police who scare me, with their aura of menacing authority and the power to do whatever they want.

  They can stop anybody anytime and search people at whim. I have witnessed beatings and bullying and been threatened myself when I spoke up. The proliferation of groups of police as they swarm the neighbourhood is especially intimidating, and it would be impossible to say how many of my nights have been disturbed by their noise as they roar around Oppenheimer Park, churning up the grass, moving people along. We need to be able to solve our community issues without their interference. 

may all beings be blessed: including me and thee

love and grace

                     delanye

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Show me the Good in Friday, will ya?

Good Friday, not a good day to get hung up

years ago on the flat earth the boys would gather

to deride us cousins with stone-filled snowballs

to torment us, the Smith gang against us

But that was a million miles back there

By the church the dealer is taunting me

'You, sir, look like you wanna fall off the wagon'

50 years and the Smith gang is still here

they turned Latin and now wear baseball caps

but the mean look in their eyes is still the same

Always struck me here it was the official start

a brand new year summer: baseball/hotdog/swimming

but that didn't change the meanness, hardness

and now, this morning, they call like crows

             "rock" "Rock"  "ROCK"

and I wonder was anything of this worth it?

seems like some of us get crucified everyday

             Al

[top]

Noise Pollution Level Extreme

It's a holiday and I'm lost again

I ask the street signs for directions but

they just bend over smiling at me

"po' boy got hisself lost"

the tulips laugh and slap their leaves together

the sidewalks grumble letting out slow moans

even my super-duper hero's helmet with its noise

reflecting foil won't keep out the voices

the traffic is snarling the buses are barking

friggin street's a zoo and the animals are rioting

I tried to put on my shoes but they got up

and walked out the door without me

Before I could sit down the chair walked past

tryin' to have breakfast traditional N.American way

but the fork tried to beat the shit outta the spoon

the fried eggs beat up the hash browns

poor coffee wasn't strong enough to defend itself

it's a holiday but don't know which one  Christmas?

either an immaculate execution

or a case of mistaken identity

"Bring us your bare ass" the school kids scream

Barabadass  bear a bad ass  it would make sense

if the damn daffodils could quiet down a bit

a thousand cell phones are ringing at once

but no one knows who is the one being called

it's not me, that's for sure. Beyond that, I dunno

            Andy Losito

[top]

TO ALL THE KITCHEN VOLUNTEERS:

  Here it is Easter! A time of buying hams, lilies and eggs. It is also a time to remind oneself of one's religion, or at least, to reflect on life.

  If we could slow down all those thousands of legs that have been frantically devouring the square footage of the shopping malls and if all those Hams and Eggs could talk, the Eggs story would probably be brief, something like:

  "I started out in an asshole and ended up in an asshole" They are pretty well victims of society. They usually hang out in herds and end up cracked or rotten.

  Now Hams are more individual. Some are mostly waste with very little meat to them.  Some are force produced and sell themselves very easily. Then there are the slow cured ones. They are lucky, having had

time to watch the other types come and go and to appreciate Life. They may take longer to sell, but once they do, chances are they will be treated with care; appreciated and maybe even decorated.  Not only do they make many a person smile, but their marrow can make many a dogs tail wag.

 I think people are like Ham and Eggs. Realizing this I've decided that the old adage "She's a good egg!" is for the birds.

So here's to all you slow cured Hams from another.

  LETS KEEP HAMMING IT UP!

     Happy Easter, Colleen

[top]

MORE DIRT

  The original Earth Day was on the March Equinox, when night and day are equal in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres.  Now we celebrate it on April 21st.

  This day is devoted to Peace, Justice, and the care of Earth.  How can we do that?  Spring clean your block, the streets, empty lots, yards, play areas and coastal shorelines.  Plant trees, shrubs and gardens.  Where possible, let people of different creeds, races or cultures come together.  Congratulate, with words or possible awards, examples of peaceful resolution of conflict, or pioneers of a sustainable community.  I can think of two, right off the top of my head - Muggs Sigurgeirson of the Community Garden, and Ken Lyotier of the Bottle Depot.   Make yourself and the people around you aware of current policies and plans for environmental preservation and care: composting, clean energy, health alternatives, preservation of wild life and forests, and reduction of pesticide use.  At the first Earth Day in San Francisco in 1970, Golden Gate Park provided schools with shrubs and tree saplings for children to plant, which the Red Cross delivered.

  On April 21, the ancient Romans celebrated the festival of "Parilia" to honour Pales, the goddess of shepherds, sheep, cattle and domesticated animals.  She was prayed to for the health and safety of animals, and to avert drought, disease and famine.  Sheepfolds were decorated with green branches and animals were driven through the smoke of fires of fragrant wood.  This was the day to beg Her forgiveness for any unintentional wrong to nature in the previous year.

  Interestingly, this goddess was sometimes considered androgynous or male, a force of nature like Pan.  Pan was half god half goat; he lived in the wild, played a shepherd's flute and was believed by the Greeks to be the personification of nature.

  In recent times, Parilia has become Earth Day, when people remember their responsibility to the environment.  We need to proclaim a world view called Gaia Consciousness, that challenges the irresponsible materialism which many have termed "the rape of our planet".  This  growing movement, that bears the ancient Greek name of Mother Earth, holds the promise of healing our planet.  Scientist James Lovelock coined the term to explain the earth as a single, living organism in the '70s.  This was a big shift from the commonly held belief that the earth was dead matter with bits of life clinging to it. The exploitive rule of humans over nature, justified by science and Judeo-Christian religion, has brought us almost to the point of no return.  The moral implications that our planet is alive are enormous.  First Nations peoples around the world have never lost their vision of the earth as the body of the Great Mother, and continue to tell Her story in their creation myths.  We need to say "no"  to the dominant world order.  We need to confront the difficulties of a truly radical shift in beliefs.  We need to remind each other that what we do is important, to re-kindle the hope out of a burnt-out, cynical numbness.

  When the places where we live fall into disrepair and decay, so do our spirits.  We spend most of our lives living and working in the city, but how committed are we to shaping this space?  How do we as activists, and possibly "visionaries", make our own lives exemplary of the peace and justice we want to see in the world?  There's a lot of talk about the changes needed in government, but rarely is there talk about change in how we live our individual lives. 

  This is the discussion I have been having with myself for the past few months, making artwork for the April show at the Gallery Gachet called "Down To Earth". Cross-cultural images become one-world issues of life and death, growth and decay, love and loneliness, and symbols of human harmony with what keeps us alive.  With small votive collages and 3 slightly larger altars, I call on Earth and Fire, 2 of the 4 sacred directions.  I have situated these altars in a cave, the most ancient of temples, by painting the gallery walls to resemble rock, and decorating them with petroglyphs found the world over -

spirals, suns, the cross, the four directions, dancers and spirit-watchers.  I use the powerful female image of the cave, the womb, the pot, an enclosure, a vessel; all the same thing, out of them come life and nurturance. I have assembled fragments of  a her-story excluded from history books.  For thousands of years before the reign of a woman-punishing God-The-Father, earth-based spirituality celebrated the Divine Mother and Her power to give life.  These Ancient Ways focus on something available to all of us equally, our own experience.  In the intimacy of our own homes, barefoot in the presence of a sacred site we ourselves have made, we own this reality.

 The altar - whether it be a table top collection of photos and memorabilia, or stones and shells on a window sill - is a living instrument of communication that doesn't need memorized scriptures or rigid doctrines.  It is constantly being layered and embellished; it evolves and changes just as it reflects our prayers for transformation and reconciliation.  Spiritual practice is the joining of heaven and earth and achieving a balance.  We need a safe place to be able to connect with our Life Force, to develop and celebrate an inner peace.  We need a place where we can dance like nobody's watching, sing like nobody's listening, or cry without apologizing.  Then we will be the most effective in the work we do in the world.  Spirituality is not the same as religion; spirituality is an important part of daily life.

  I am exhibiting alongside Laurie Marshall, Young shin Lee, Diane Thorn, April Marchant, Shelley Lavell, Sharon Smith and Noelle Nadeau.  We all use earth / dirt / clay to express out own questions and answers relating to our urban lives, homelessness, community, fear, and sanctuary.  The show closes Friday April 30.  Gallery hours are W-T-F-S noon - 6.

By Diane Wood

[top]

One Rule and a Place for Everybody

Fighting over what is holy

Is not holy

Continues to desecrate

The sacredness of life

What we can do working together

Can be undone by fighting

In a twinkle

Reality switches

Fighting smashes chances

We keep killing each other

According to the rules

The rules say these are the boundaries

The rules say losers can't win

The rules give permission to eliminate the enemy

The enemy are the rules that come between us

the rules don't care

that they are stacked against us

that they are seldom fair

but we care

enough to suspend the rules

for the one rule that everybody has always

agreed is all that is necessary

for thoughtful communication

which is to love each other    

as we would be

which means

no more fighting

   Delanye

[top]

Protecting Secwepemc Homeland

  On Thursday afternoon, March 25, a rally was held at Victory Square in Vancouver to protest the invasion of Secwepemc land by Delta Hotels and Sun Peaks Ski Resort.

  Secwepemc territories are in the interior of British Columbia.  The harassment of Secwepemc people by the governments of Canada and British Columbia is a continuation of colonial practices that have robbed Indigenous peoples of self determination by usurping their land and destroying their livelihood.

  In his speech at the rally, Ray Bob of the Native Solidarity Network said, ".the struggle against the expansion of Sun Peaks represents the struggle of all Third World people for self-determination against imperialist powers..The struggle against the expansion of Sun Peaks also represents the struggle of all people to make corporations responsible to people's rights and to the environment."

For more information, contact kiko@resist.ca

      By Sandy Cameron

[top]

When will people outside stop exploiting tragedies of the Downtown Eastside?

  This time it's the appalling ad campaign of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). The billboard ad shows a picture of a woman, made up to look like a prostitute, and an equally-sized picture of a pig. The caption reads "Neither one of us is a piece of meat."

  It's a perfect example of good intentions gone awry

How can people claiming to be sensitive to animal suffering be so callous about the massive murders uncovered at Picton's pig farm? This ad associating the killing of women with the killing of pigs, is the most cruel way to get attention for their cause.

  In an episode of "King of the Hill" (a cartoon) in 2003, Louanne is being wooed by a man who took her to his pig farm. There, he turned psycho, she tried to escape, he caught her and dragged her to the slaughterhouse full of torture instruments and tied her to the conveyor belt to kill her. Of course she was saved at the last minute.

  This was no coincidence. Why do people do this? Why do they think it is okay to exploit the horrific deaths of our women, saying only that their lives and deaths were meaningless, using their pain to advertise vegetarianism (supposed to be a pain-free and gentle lifestyle) and as script material for a cartoon!?

  Such vicious, negative attitudes toward welfare recipients, the homeless, the mentally ill, addicts and sex-trade workers may be the main reason why governments do next to nothing to improve our lives - even cutting many crucial services. The well-fed, housed public accepts the idea that "welfare bums" get too much money anyway. Some even go so far as to imply that 'they chose that lifestyle'... and the vicious circle continues.

  There was an outcry about PETA's ad, and many advertising companies refused to publish it. Even the Prime Minister expressed his outrage - maybe there's still hope after all.

      Christiane Bordier

[top]

Depression

  There may be something new here, but most of us who are depressed have likely already thought 'Yeah right.' Everyone's is different. My older brother is a near-genius (or was at one time - we send each other a few lines of gruff 'n bluff now and then) and he is cynical about what he calls "dubious diagnoses" and how much of what is called or lumped together under the umbrella of depression is the normal human condition with a fancy pharmaceutical moniker to sell incredibly expensive and equally dubious medications for the lifetime of each sufferer.

  The cat almost got out of the bag with a news story sandwiched in with killings in Iraq (or was it Israel), the latest black hole for tax dollars (sponsorship, gun registry, Star Wars, NAFTA lawsuits, ...) and the collapse of some multi-billion dollar industry (or company) and the 4-5 minute commercial 'breaks' - about how the top 10 anti-depressant drugs on the market are linked with increases in suicide as those on higher and higher doses get more and more despondent over time and pissed off that the seeming miracle of one or another didn't drag them out of their hole - real or imagined.

  I find it hard to believe that the vast majority of people will sell their mothers for a buck, but it always seems that those with great wealth or power (or who seem to have a decided edge in those terms and "not fair" springs automatically from those having to balance) epitomize sleaze or immorality or just sky-licking greed.

  Hindsight - or jingo-analysis - connects the dots but _____________. Consider how it seems so obvious that the leveling of the World Trade Centre in New York was precisely what was needed by the ultra-right in the States to get their Patriot Act passed, to limit or cut back on civil liberties, to target and now arrest without even needing a disclosable reason anyone anywhere who may be a threat to the (their) peace; how obvious it is that the 'war on terror' legislation in place here in Canada can now be used to jail any dissidents or even peaceful people who support or give money to anyone or anything that the government deems a threat; how simple it all becomes if you just narrow and narrow your world to exclude wondering about how bad it is or will become and just let "Big Brother" do his thing - as long as WWE and sports and reality (sic) shows and sex, music and drugs are enough for a full life...

  But then it opens like a fist into a hand - keeping everything clenched is tiring and limits what you can do with what you have and are.  I've been the subject of dubious analyses - both for depression and by those who suggest not printing anything I've written until said depression is tamed... The email saga in the last issue between Charles "Carlos" Herbst and I got his knickers in a knot over being outed as a blank - and he thereupon wrote a letter to the Director here demanding that "this idiot, this moron, this so-called editor" be castigated(rated?) for printing what he wrote. But then I'm just another "lowlife"

  Depression seems to be telling yourself that there's nothing good or worth doing - and believing this - so maybe that's getting old too.  Move on...!

          By PAULR  TAYLOR

[top]

  The Chinatown Arts and Culture Festival is a multicultural fair held on four consecutive Saturdays in July at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park courtyard. (50 East Pender St., Vancouver) Running afternoons from 1 to 4 PM, this year's festival features dancers, musicians and craftspeople from the Chinese, Malaysian, Japanese and Aboriginal communities.

  Chinatown has a bustling tourist trade in the summer, and this is a great chance for local craftspeople and artisans to promote their work to locals and visitors within a living, vibrant, multicultural context. A number of tables are available for people to display and sell Arts & Crafts at the Dr. Sun YatSen Park on July 3rd, 10th, 17th and 24th. We are looking for people who want to set up for any or all of these days. Tables will be supplied by the Festival Committee. We are asking for a donation of 10 - 20% of proceeds to help cover Festival costs.

 If you'd like to take advantage of this opportunity to be part of the Chinatown Arts and Culture Festival, send us your info, and what days you'd like to set-up. You will be asked to provide examples of your work to be reviewed by the Festival Committee.

 The deadline for applications is Friday, April 23.

To find out how you can be part of the Chinatown Arts and Culture Festival, contact Rika Uto at Carnegie Centre, 401 Main St., Van BC V6A 2T7

tele: 604-665-3003 or email: rika_uto@city.vancouver.bc.ca

This event is a partnership between Chinese Cultural Centre, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, Vancouver Chinatown Revitalization Committee and Carnegie Community Centre.

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CASH OVERTAKES COERCION IN QUEBEC

  In what it calls a revolution in the way it deals with poverty, the Quebec government will start offering cash incentives rather than coercion to get welfare recipients into the work force.

 The Liberal government's anti-poverty strategy unveiled yesterday ensures a minimum annual guaranteed income that will take effect April 1, 2005 -- fully indexed for those who are incapable of working, and indexed at 50 per cent for those who can but refuse to work.

  It will also be fully indexed for welfare recipients who show a desire to reintegrate into the job market. In addition, they will receive a $150-a-month bonus -- instead of the current $130  - for participating in job-training programs, including volunteer work.

News From the Library

Come to the Cabaret!

Please mark your calendars Friday April 30th as the library presents a programme in the Theatre: Lady drinks the Blues.

Coming to us at Carnegie is Mary Barry, part of the cultural boom of the East Coast from St Johns (Newfoundland) . Mary performed with CodCo members

and has built a great reputation during her career. Read what the critics say:

"This steamy-voiced artist captured the audience from her first step on the stage and held them until the lights went up after her encore"

CFRO - Co-op Radio  102.7 FM

2004 Spring  Member Drive  -  April 16 to May 2

Programming Highlights

€    Noam Chomsky in Vancouver!

€    Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal

€    All the ³Kings² music special

€    Earth Week (April 19-24)

€    Celebrating Resistance  (April 26-May 1)

What¹s Up at the Station

Interested in volunteering for Co-op Radio? Information sessions are held on the 3rd Tuesday of every month: 3pm and 6pm

New Shows!

€    Kwum Kwum Slena7y is a Squamish phrase meaning ³Strength of Women². Tune in to this aboriginal women¹s show on Mondays at 8pm.

€    Art of Beatz features the world of electronic music through guest DJ¹s, interviews, event listings, and community issues. Thursdays at 12midnight.

Media Arts Committee Looking for New Members

Interested in audio art, soundscapes, or creative noise? Our station has a place for you. The Media Arts Committee administers Canada Council grants, looks after the production studio and works with our artists-in-residence.     E-mail: technician@coopradio.org

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 The Ongoing Scandal of the Privatization of BC Rail

  This article is based on a couple of papers by Wayne Benedict. He is president and vice-general chairperson of the Canadian Union of Transportation Employees, Local 1 - Locomotive Engineers at BC Rail, at the time of the writing of the main paper, titled "The Dubious Privatization of BC Rail," written on Sept. 29, 2002.  I found it online at the website www.creativeresistance.ca. The other paper is about the questionable merits of privatization, titled "The Debate over the Public Sector: Major Issues" published in three parts from Sept. 4 to Sept. 18, 2002 in The Voice, a publication also found online.

   First, a couple of observations on privatization by Benedict: "...[I]t is clear that those who benefit from the divestiture of public holdings are not the general public, nor the state, but those few private individuals who are in a position to exploit the formerly public-owned assets and/or services through acquisition or profit from their demise - capitalists."

   And another quote: "As with nearly every issue in a capitalist society, debates surrounding Canada's public sector boil down to money.  Capitalists want to profit through: the acquisition of public assets; private provision of historically-public services; reduced competition between the private and public sectors; deregulation allowing cheaper standards; cuts to the social safety-net to motivate people to work at the "market" price; etc.  The social-minded political-left desire: a strong state; public ownership and control of Canadian assets; a broad-based and secure social security system; regulation of business to ensure health and safety; etc.  Only two things are certain: the issues surrounding the "public sector" are complex; and Canadian public-private sector debates will continue into the foreseeable future."

   It's not difficult to see where the influential voices of the media side: being corporate-controlled, they make no bones about being in favour of privatization.

   In the recent movie, The Corporation, Michael Walker of the right-wing think tank, The Fraser Institute, is caught on film declaring that we should "privatize everything."  That in itself should be enough of a denunciation of privatization: The Fraser Institute never advocates for the public good.

***

   BC Rail was instrumental in transporting coal and forest products from the interior to the south.  BC took over running the enterprise in 1918, when the company then running it no longer could.   It is not so well known that for more than a decade before 2002, BC Rail was in the process of being privatized.

   In the provincial election of 1996, Gordon Campbell promised to privatize BC Rail, much to the consternation of northern BC voters.  His party lost that election, in part, he said later, because of that ill-thought promise.  He didn't make the same mistake twice.  In the 2001 election, he promised not to privatize BC Rail, and BC voted his party in, in a landslide.

   But much before this, BC Rail had been split into a group of companies, their profitable sections sold off to various private interests.  It is speculated that this was done to make the company unprofitable, and therefore ripe for total privatization. Confirming this is the fact that in the 16 years before 1995, BC Rail turned a profit and was considered a jewel in the province's public holdings.  Also, in the late 90s, all the upper management of BC Rail was changed, another move suggesting total privatization was imminent.

   Consider this personal communication by Walt Cobb, Liberal MLA for Cariboo South: "Tell me how I can be best representing my constituans (sic) by spending everyones (sic) hard earned money on a Rail line that has such a poor record of managing, promoting or operating a financially viable service.  I believe we need the infastructure (sic) to get our goods to market but we need to find a way to at least break even in that operation.  Trucking companies seem to be doing fine so the rail service better clean up its act if it wishes to stay competitive (sic)" (August 29, 2002)

   So in keeping with the ideological bent of the BC Liberals (neoconservatism) and also that they are beholden to their rich friends and big business buddies who contributed so much money to their campaign coffers, it is hardly surprising that Campbell's government wants to continue the error made by previous governments and privatize BC Rail.  This is nothing less than another BC Liberal scandal.

[top]

Hiya folks!

  Well, over here at Urban Outreach, we have started the production of new video on Crystal Meth called ~~ Starting Point ~~ . This is a documentary

exploring harm reduction recommendations from / for users. Seems that as soon as you start something you begin to realize that hey! so many peeps are

up on it.... *S* So, here is my Q: I would like to know who else is doing a project/ running an organization / doing research / education campaigns /

etc, regarding Crystal Meth in Vancouver? Could you forward names (of people or organizations), contact numbers, and web sites with info.  (Please, do not send names of individual peeps or their contact info if you have not cleared it with them. *s*)

 This help, of course, is much appreciated. I just ask cuz I would like to be able to further link this documentary with other people's work.

 Luv rage and a bit of a smirk (and a plutonic * kiss kiss *) Hayley Sinclair Urban Outreach coordinator for AMES www.accesstomedia.org/urban

604.216.0790

Call for video artists

Urban Outreach (AMES)Urban Outreach Vancouver seeks to assist socially, culturally and economically marginalized young artists with the development of their video-based work.

 As well as mentoring the use of their postproduction equipment and camera gear, Urban Outreach is a supportive, consensus based facility that provides

peer-support and strives for mutual community building.

 Our programs reflect the desire to create meaningful media, as well as our commitment to build long-lasting trusting relationships with our members.

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 "Who's winning the class war in BC?"

 With thousands of British Columbians ineligible for E.I., Workers' Compensation, Long Term Disability, and now disqualified from Social Assistance; with the closure of Safe Houses, Shelters and reductions in services for our most vulnerable citizens; and, with the exponential increase in families who are now one pay cheque away from "the streets", Stop Welfare Cuts Coalition recognizes with respect and acknowledgement the 'class analysis' of Paul Ramsey, as published The Prince George Free Press column of  April 1, 2004.

 ******************************************

   "Governments are elected by those who support their particular ideologies or policies, but governments are expected to exercise their power in ways that account for all citizens' needs--whether they voted for the government or not.  In highly polarized politics, such as British Columbia is notorious for, that sometimes doesn't happen.  The biggest losers in British Columbia since the 2001 election have clearly been working class families and the poor.  And the winners . . .

Governing for the rich

 "If class warfare is being waged in America, my class is clearly winning"

                              --Warren Buffett

 His net worth is greater than most countries.  Global capitalism has obviously served Warren Buffett well.  But the irascible billionaire has never been shy about castigating his fellow corporate elite and pointing out embarrassing facts in his annual shareholders' letters.

  His latest blast highlighted, among other things, the record-low levels of income tax paid by US corporations.  In 2003, corporate income taxes accounted for just 7.4 percent of US federal tax receipts, compared to a post-World War Two peak of 34 percent.  And that was before the latest round of President Bush's tax breaks.

   In the polarized politics of our province, the BC Legislature has long been seen as a place where the representatives of the workers do battle with the representatives of the bosses.  Voters may yearn for an administration that governs for everyone, but they keep electing governments that love to fight. 

   Usually it's the NDP that is accused of class warfare.  However, it's been the province's right-wing coalitions-Social Credit and now Provincial Liberal-who have been the most successful implementers of class-based policies. 

  Let's not even talk about the Liberal government's relentless "poor bashing" that masquerades as welfare assistance.  In area after area of public policy, this government's actions seem based not so much on what is best for the province as a whole, but on what will be advantageous to corporate supporters.

Take, for example, employment standards.  Changes in BC's Labour Code were no surprise after the 2001 election; every new government tinkers with the legal framework governing union activity.  And maybe it was to be expected that pay equity legislation, introduced by the NDP, would be quickly scrapped-even though similar laws are standard in most provinces.  But who except corporate class-warriors would have expected a $2 reduction in the minimum wage for new entrants to the workforce?   Where in the government's 2001 election platform did it propose eliminating state regulation of child labour?  When did voters decide that the Employment Standards Act, which protects non-unionized workers, would be gutted in the name of "flexibility"?

  Government's treatment of its own workers shows the same sort of class-based policies.  The highest income earners in the health care system, physicians, were awarded fee increases averaging $50,000 apiece.  People who cleaned the operating rooms and washed the surgeons' scrubs found their jobs contracted out.  The new workers earned one-half to two-thirds what the old ones did.

 The salaries of deputy ministers were bumped up by 25 to 32 percent, putting the new pay levels at $134,300 to $203,500 a year, plus performance bonuses of up to 10 per cent.  Heads of crown corporations and senior managers in the health and education systems saw similar increases.  But the jobs of nearly one-third of all direct government workers were simply eliminated.

   However, like the Bush administration in the US, the BC government's class-based ideology is most clearly revealed by its tax policies.  Personal income taxes were cut for everyone in 2001-but far more for high-income earners than those at the bottom of the heap.  Any small gains by low income earners were quickly wiped out by increased medical premiums, sales taxes, liquor and cigarette prices, and a host of increased fees for government services-tuition, drivers licenses, campground fees, etc.

   Most revealingly, tax bills paid by corporations plummeted.  In 2000, corporations paid $1.5 billion in provincial income and capital taxes; that was only 6.2 percent of total government tax receipts--already less than the record low US federal take highlighted by Mr. Buffett.  Three years later, in 2003, the provincial government had slashed corporate taxes by half.  Corporations paid just $771 million in income taxes; that's a miniscule 2.8 percent of government tax revenues.

   Maybe Warren Buffett should relocate to British Columbia.  The government here seems even more inclined than the Bush administration to help billionaires win the class war.

  --------------------------------------------------------------

Paul Ramsey is a former MLA and Cabinet Minister.  He now teaches at CNC and is a Visiting Professor in the Political Science Program at UNBC.

[top]

 To Carnegie Newsletter:

  The rain comes down.. I am dry; it's not good to get wet when a person is homeless. So many of these 'authorities' are caught between a rock and a hard place - we must "move on" - standing in front of a business has a damaging effect on business.

  The problem is we must always move on. Where is the rest? Where is the warmth? Where is the shower or washroom? Where is kindly conversation?

  We all need acceptance and the strength to go on. A prayer cannot hurt, so have faith; the world may not seem to care about us but there is help and caring people. Rest in that knowledge until you receive these good things. Remember that even caregivers can make mistakes, so try again at what may be a better time.

  Sometimes we need to do more, even if we are the ones who are needy.

  Peace be with you. Thanks Paul, and all the Carnegie Volunteers. A community centre that cares!

      Michael Bohnert, General Delivery

                               Coquitlam  B.C.

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Send Peace

This Concert Honours The Dalai Lama And His Dedication To World Peace And Reconciliation

With Guitarist Michael Strutt, flutist Elizabeth McBurney, and clarinetist Johanna Hauser.

Music by Ravi Shankar, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Astor Piazzolla, David Leisner, and Yeshayahu Paikov

Friday, April 16, 2004 @ 4pm

             in

Carnegie Theatre

Tibetan Heart Yoga

How Yoga Works -Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga

TIBETAN HEART YOGA is an inspiring combination of traditional physical poses of yoga (asana), breathing practices (pranayama) and meditation. A new book, The Tibetan Book of Yoga, introduces this practice which offers unique instructions on understanding how yoga really works. This thirty minute practice works on a physical as well as spiritual level with deeply powerful results.

  Tibetan Heart Yoga places a special focus on your breath and thoughts during yoga practice so that we intentionally work from the "inside out". By working from the inside as well as the outside, yoga practice becomes infinitely more powerful, affecting all areas of your life.

  The Tibetan Book of Yoga, is written by Michael Roach with the Diamond Mountain Teachers. Geshe Michael is a Buddhist monk, revered author, scholar and teacher of Buddhism, who recently completed a three year silent retreat at Diamond Mountain.

Please come join us to learn more about Tibetan Heart Yoga.

Carnegie Centre Theatre

401 Main Street

Saturday April 17, 1:00pm

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 CARNEGIE VOLUNTEER-OF-THE-YEAR

      Congratulations to GERALD WELLS

 The volunteer is selected for this recognition because of meeting an extremely high standard of performance consistently throughout this past year.  296 ballots were submitted by volunteers and patrons. The Volunteer Committee's decision was to select Gerald Wells. Thank you, Gerald, for your commitment to the Carnegie community, along with a very special thank you from the Kitchen.

  The Volunteer Committee also selected four other volunteers deserving of special recognition who will be invited to attend the celebration dinner April 19th 2004. These Special Merit volunteers are:  Ada Dennis, Les Mcdonald, Sam Snobelen and Gena Thompson.  Thank you all for your commitment, dedication and hard work.

  Our Volunteer Program is a very unique creation that provides enormous benefits, not only to the community that Carnegie serves but also to each

and every individual who participates in it.  A sincere thank you to all Volunteers for your contributions and the positive effects you have on this

Community. Let's all celebrate together this coming Wednesday, April 21st at your Volunteer Recognition party, dinner and dance.  BE SURE TO JOIN US.- THIS IS YOUR WEEK!  (And I just know you won't want to miss the pie in the face ~ it's okay, not yours ~ you know who!)

Colleen

CELEBRATING OUR GEMS

VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION WEEK EVENTS

Sunday, April 18th

Pool Tournament 'Volunteers Only'

Last one in the pool (room) is a rotten egg!

I0am -      Ca$h prizes and fun!

                  Refreshments will be served

Swap Meet with Kai

9am - 3pm - Meet at Info Desk on 1st Floor

Sign up in the Program Office

Monday, April 19th

Greater Vancouver Zoo (Aldergrove).. with Kai where Learning can be a truly WILD experience 9am - 5pm - Meet at Info Desk on 1st Floor

Sign up in the Program Office

Tuesday, April 20th

UBC Museum of Anthropology with Kai

Come with us to check out the past!

This trip takes in one of the largest collections of Aboriginal artifacts and art in Canada

6pm Departure '~ meet at Info desk

Sign up in the Program Office

Wednesday, April 21st

2:30pm - 4:30pm Volunteer Party-don't miss this one! Get your ticket and join us for a couple hours of guffawing. Goodies for all! Prizes galore! Snacks and people to laugh at on stage. Kai's infamous slide show, Peter Ralston along with 'Two Old Broads'!

Sit in the Hot Seat and give Kai or Colleen a pie in the face (its Kai's turn this time don't ya think)

 followed by

4:30pm A wonderful Volunteer Banquet Dinner for Volunteers Only!

followed by

7pm - 10pm Dance with DJ Mix and win  win  WIN 

Let's rock this here house  Refreshments served. in our very own Carnegie Hall Theatre.   EVERYONE WELCOME - Volunteers and Patrons alike.

Thursday, April 22nd

l0am-lpm "Customer Service Seminar Ill Dealing With Difficult Situations" This is a great training opportunity. Certificate Upon Completion. This Seminar is a continuation of Seminar I and 2 but stands alone as well.

See Colleen for details! (Need Ticket) Coffee and Lunch to fill that hole in yer belly.

Friday, April 23rd

4pm -7pm DEVRA Awards Dinner and Dance

For the first time ever, the Volunteer Program of Carnegie Community Centre invites local agencies and their volunteers to attend the 1st Annual Down- town Eastside Volunteer Recognition Awards. This gala affair will be a community-based celebration of volunteer spirit that focuses on individuals and community agencies.

followed by

7pm -10pm Dance with our very own Carnegie All Star Band; always guaranteed fun! (all band members are talented musicians and active Carnegie volunteers).

EVERYONE WELCOME! ESPECIALLY YOU!

Saturday, April 24th

"lunch and a Movie'  with Colleen

Carnegie Invades Tinseltown! Don't miss it!

Please SIGN UP for events at the Volunteer Program Office. See Kai or Colleen. Seating is limited!

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CELEBRATING MAY DAY

  Every year the ruling classes around the world are again reminded of their vulnerability and of the power of their gravediggers.  On May 1, the working class displays its strength in demonstrations and strikes.  May Day - International Workers' Day - is a reminder to the ruling class that their days are numbered.  Revolutions around the world  - in Russia, China, Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and others - have shown that capitalist rule is not secure.  The workers can win.

  May Day was born from the struggle for an eight-hour day.  Working classes have existed since the development of agriculture, about 10,000 years ago.  Serfs, slaves, trades people and others were forced to turn over the fruits of their labour to an exploiting class.  But the modern working class - the class of "free labour" - is only several hundred years old.  Although its exploitation is masked by the wage system, it is no less brutal.  In 1872, a hundred thousand workers in New York City struck and won the eight-hour day, mostly for building trades workers.  The movement for the eight-hour day was wedded to the date of May 1 at an 1884 convention of the three-year-old Federation of Organized Trades and Labour Unions of the United States and Canada.  George Edmonston, founder of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners introduced a resolution ... "that eight hours shall constitute a legal day's labour from and after May 1, 1886."

  The growing strength of the eight-hour movement caused a panic in the ruling class.  Newspaper headlines blared warnings of "communist infiltrators."  Other bosses capitulated in fear; by April 1886, over 30,000 workers were granted the eight-hour day.  Despite the bosses' predictions of violence, the world's first May Day was a massive success, involving hundreds of thousands in peaceful strikes and demonstrations.  The largest demonstration was in Chicago, where 90,000 marched, and 35,000 Chicago meatpackers won the eight-hour day with no loss of pay after that strike.

  In 1889, over 400 delegates met in Paris on the 100th anniversary of the French revolution at the Marxist International Socialist Congress.  They passed a resolution for a "great international demonstration" to take place for the eight-hour day, to take place on May 1, 1890.  The call was a resounding success; demonstrations took place in the USA, most countries in Europe, Chile, Peru and Cuba.  Frederick Engels wrote "the proletariat of Europe and America...is mobilized for the first time as one army, under one flag, and fighting for one immediate aim: an eight-hour working day."  The day quickly became a yearly event, with Russia, Brazil and Ireland joining in 1891, China in 1920 and India in 1927.

  While May Day picked up momentum across the world, it lost its steam in its country of origin.  In 1919, following the victory of the workers and peasants in the Soviet Union, a vicious red scare swept the USA.  May Day rallies were attacked both in the press and physically.  Despite its setbacks in the USA, May Day is embraced by millions of workers in every country of the world as a day to raise its class demands.  For that reason it haunts the bankers and corporate barons as much as it inspires the millions of workers who observe it.  It is the day when the workers take their place in the class army that will one day unseat their masters.

By Andy McInerney, "May Day, The Workers' Day"

From Liberation and Marxism   www.workers.org

  May Day has been celebrated since Roman times, to honour the goddess Flora.  A procession of singers and dancers carried a statue of her, wreathed in flowers past a sacred tree.  Festivals of this kind spread to other lands conquered by the Romans.    May Day was considered the first day of summer by the Anglo-Saxons; it was symbolic of a return to life, of the defeat of the hard winter, with hopes of planting and a rich harvest, of blossoming and

desire.  The people built great bonfires on hillsides, leaped over flames, or drove cattle through them.  Large oatcakes, called bannocks, were eaten as part of the festivities. This is the day when that groundswell of desire we know as "spring fever" was celebrated.  Folks danced around the May Pole, gathered flowers to decorate their homes, and spent nights together under the stars in the forest.  Villages elected a young, attractive couple to represent the King and Queen of May and rule over the games, dancing and festivities.  In Elizabethan times, they were called Robin Hood and Maid Marian.  May Day festivals became so wild, the Puritans considered them "heathen" and forced the government to forbid them.

So whichever way you celebrate May Day, if you're working class and proud of it, or if you have a serious case of spring fever, come join the Downtown Eastside poets  on May 1st in the theatre at 7:00 pm for our monthly poetry reading.  Besides our line-up of regulars, there is always open mike so you, yes YOU, can bring something you have written to read.  We're a loud and generous audience, don't be shy! 

Free coffee, juice and munchies, too.

by Lady Di

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WHERE DID MY HUSBAND GO?

Strong and vibrant once you were

Hair blowing in the wind

A cocky grin upon your face

Where did my husband go?

My dreams are filled with memories of

Those times we'd dance and sing

Alive with joy we both had been

Where did my husband go?

I feel your lips so soft on mine

Your arms encircling me

The comfort of your gentle touch

Where did my husband go?

Before me now a ravaged man

Whose weary shoulders droop

Such shame and torment on his face

Where did my husband go?

The drugs have taken you away

There's nothing I can do

Except to give you dignity

By allowing you to go

It's hard on you to always try

To be the man I want

This burden you cannot afford

I have to let you go

Addiction claimed not one, but two

My weary shoulders droop

Such grief and torment on my face

I finally let you go

Forgive me if I can't forget

Your laughter lit me up

I miss that twinkle in your eye

Where did my husband go?

            Maureen Kerr

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Packaged Holiness, and other Illusions

           An Easter Meditation

  I didn't go to a Christian church this morning, for 'm supposed to be joyous today, on cue, it being Easter. But the automatic ritual doesn't work for me,

or for anyone else, really, from the looks of things. The Deception is too obvious now.

  But I'm not worried. I doubt that Jesus himself ever went to church, except of course to trash a Templ  hat one time and get himself nailed for his efforts.

And he sure as hell never had lunch with a Caesar or hobnobbed with the super-rich. The guy probably never met more than a couple hundred people in his lifetime, and they all would have been as poor and struggling as he was. By all accounts, his world consisted of fifty miles of sand and poverty in every direction, without a church in sight.

  This thought struck me today when I beheld a picture of the Dalai Lama, the west's latest groovy religious icon, seated comfortably across from George Bush in the White House, and giving "the President" his blessing and most beatific smile.

  George seemed pleased.

  Personally, I don't know Mr. Lama any more than your average reputed holy man. Maybe he's the real thing.  Of course, if he is, he sure doesn't need evening news photo ops and whirlwind holiness tours to bring enlightenment to all of us poor dumb mortals. If simple words and an even simpler life was good enough for Jesus, Buddha, and all the other folks we like to hold up, then it should be enough for Mr. Lama.

  The trouble is, these days, there's no way to tell a real saint from a charlatan. Not anymore. Our moral compass simply can't find the true north of divinity

amidst the magnetic chaos and babble that passes as "civilization" in these last days.

  Let's face it, our inner eye has been jammed shut by our own blinding banality. There is no quiet anymore; no secret pools where fairies dwell; no empty, glowing moments of indescribability. Our metal world doesn't allow such uncontrollable fecundity. The briefest whiff of mystery is quickly captured and categorized by the religious experts, churned out as melodramatic crap like so much popcorn. Even love is explained. There is nothing left for dreams.

  No, I'm sorry to be the one to say, but we don't know God, and we never will, for Mystery's got nothing to do with our dearest hopes, here on the treadmill: the chance for a rest, now and then, or for decent food and lodgings, or the other little happinesses that this dusky laboratory allows its slaves.

  Mystery doesn't work, doesn't explain, doesn't comfort, and it sure as hell doesn't get things done. All it does is make everything new. It asks us to jump off the treadmill into oblivion. And that's a pretty much impossible demand for toiling little rodents like us.

  The religious experts know this damned well, of course, which is why the Mystery - or whatever - is always packaged so well. God DOES work, after all. God CAN save your marriage, and bring you wealth and happiness, and boost the attendance in your little humdrum church. That senseless crucifixion of a good man DID have a higher purpose, after all. Fifty million people died so that we all might live. The universe DOES have a moral purpose and a place for each one of us, but only if we say the right prayer or do the proper ritual - ONLY if we bow and genuflect and call another person "Your Holiness" and put his truth before our own.

 It's all supposed to work that way, you see; but, how sad to tell, it never does. Children still die, after all the prayers. Our dearest hopes are torn away forever. Wars and suffering abound, even after all our good works. The evil guys win, time after time. The miracles always elude us. And we still end up blaming

ourselves for this great cosmic failure: IF ONLY we were better believers, or activists, or parents, everything would be fine. If only. If only.

  Few of us ever see the deception, even when it's so simple and obvious: We're trying to package Nothingness. And when all the bright glitter fades and the mantras subside and the gurus jet away to their next wealthy revival meeting, there's nothing left but the Void that the package tried to encompass.

  The Void. The face of God.

We human beings are so like General Vespasian, the Roman butcher who strode into the Jerusalem Temple after destroying it, and tore aside the drapes covering the inner Holy of Holies where God was said to dwell ... and found nothing there.

  It's hard to dwell with nothingness. It's hard to dwell with God. Instead, "Let us build for ourselves a Golden Calf, which we can worship ...".

Easter Sunday, 2004

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Dear Libby,

Recently the federal government instituted a "child with disabilities credit". Parents with a severely disAbled child would receive an additional $133.00 per month for that child.

  What is going to be the status of those finds for those on welfare. Will it be clawed back, as happens with back payment for the "child tax credit"? Hopefully not.

  As parents will be receiving a back payment, it is hoped that they will be able to keep it to their families benefit.

             Carol Romanow

Dear Carol,

Thank you for writing me to let me know about your concern regarding the potential claw-back of the Child Disability Benefit (CDB). I looked into this benefit and as far as I can tell the provinces and territories will not claw-back this benefit from families receiving social assistance.

 The CDB is provided as a supplement to the Canada Child Tax Benefit(CCTB), similarity to the National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS). The CCTB is provided to all low and middle income parents and is not clawed-back from social assistance recipients, however the NCBS is considered income by most (possibly all) of the provinces and territories and therefor it is clawed-back from those receiving social assistance. As the CDB is not included under the NCBS but instead as a supplement under the CCTB and the Child Special Allowance (for children under federal or provincial government care) it appears that it would not be considered income and will not be clawed-back from those on social assistance.

For more information about the CDB, you can check the government website at  www.ccra.gc.ca/benefits or call 1-800-387-1193.

Thank you again for sharing your concerns with me.

Sincerely,

    Libby [Davies] M.P. Vancouver East

     Davies.L@parl.gc.ca

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DayAfterDay

The gray veil descends slowly like a tattered curtain frayed by curtailing winds of decided dissension, bodies march step, disarrayed yet at the same time cohesive in mind and spirit, go forward with hearts pounding, feet aflutter, wearing smiles of grim resolve, commitment and determination, their earthly lifelines torn asunder (but not forever) by despotic dimwitted higher-ups who have no conception whatsoever what it takes to keep the wolves away from our doors, or persistent greedy creditors at bay.

They lline the chewsstrips of pitted rock for stale, sodden sandwiches and maybe a Styrofoam bowl of rancid soup - if early, if lucky, a bag of moldy donuts are heaped, quite unceremoniously, upon you and you feel like a dirty snowball melting through fingers, like small change falling awkwardly to the ground, hitting like a shattered timepiece saying you need these long, lonely, solitary days.

               Robyn

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It boggles the mind

 If you think Stanley Park is big, you should see Burns Bog in Delta. The bog is ten times bigger than Stanley Park, and one of the most important open spaces still left in the Lower Mainland. It has plants left over from the Ice Age, including a carnivorous species, that you won't find anywhere else in these parts.

  Thanks to some heavy campaigning by the community, most of the bog has now been saved from development. Four levels of government agreed to put up $73 million to buy 5,000 acres from its private owners.

      Carnegie was involved in the battle, and now Carnegie folks will get a chance to see this magical place first-hand Friday, April 16, on a hike through the bogland.

  Walking in the bog feels like travelling across a waterbed. The ground is springy, because it's made of peat, formed over the past 5,000 years by decayed organic matter.

  The bog is a type of wetland, like a swamp. But don't confuse it with a swamp, which is rich with growth in profusion. A bog is an acidic, nutrition-poor habitat with little drainage. Most plants can't grow in these conditions, so that leaves the field open to some very unusual species, with their own kind of beauty that takes some getting used to.

      These include the sphagnum moss, growing in thousand-year-old humps of green, red and yellow along the pathway. Sphagnum is highly water-absorbent and was used by the Musqueam for diapers and in the First World War as antiseptic bandage.

      Some of the plants are rare survivors of the Ice Age, like velvet-leaved blueberry, cloudberry and bog rosemary.

      There's also a tiny carnivorous species, the sundew, which attracts gnats and mites to its sticky sap, then dissolves and absorbs them.

      To register for the bog walk, just sign on at the third floor office. This is a walk open to all Carnegie members. Free picnic lunch provided.

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