September 1, 2003, carnegie newsletter

N E W S L E T T E R SEPTEMBER 1,2003 .-

401 Main Street, Vancouver. V6A ZT7 (6041

Homeless, not ho-peless..

Homeless, not hopeless It seems that Canada's Corporate cretins are no

longer much interested in our 'image'. The facts of this national disgrace are carefilly managed, with the homeless themselves being used to shoot them- selves in the foot.

Witness the apparent lack of national concern over the 30,000+ people forced into the streets in Toronto alone, due directly to the slashing of assistance by 2 1 % and th concerted movement away from afford- able, low-income housing. The policy makers have instructed their politicians to take the 'global' view: Virtually every 3rd World city has thousands to tens of thousands of people who are destitute, eking out an existence on the streets with no welfare or public support at all. The dismantling of the USSR is now showing the consequences of the "shock treatment" each independent area is still reeling fiom, with the natural resources like timber, minerals, water and oil being raped from the land by criminal cartels. In Moscow, public records show that an average of four homeless people die every day from exposure but the policy makers have again ordered their poli- ticians to mimic the press (owned by the criminals) in vilifying all homeless as "failures", "losers" etc.

In every populous area, be it India, China, South- east Asia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, the Central and South American countries' major cities and throughout the USA, homeless people are seen as a "fact of life" with little thought given by respec- tive governments on how their masters' systems (almost invariably corporate capitalist) could have produced so many disposable people - 'rejects' of their great market-driven machines? In the USA the corporate bosses were initially mystified by the growing legions of Bag Ladies but they, like their male counterparts, are not unique: just more grist for the mill. Back to Canada. It is disconcerting for the current

city government here in Vancouver to have to con- front and deal with the Tent City people, whose fight is with the Provincial government of Campbell and his masters (most affiliated with the Fraser Institute). The Feds got 'out' of housing 10 years ago; the homeless, the lack of affordable, decent housing, the introduction of workfare and the undermining of public labour and collective agreements, dwindling wages and full-time jobs, slashing social programs -

all done quite enthusiastically by Campbell (and Klein and Harris and Eves) brings us to a conscious decision made and passed on as orders to the law-

passers: "It doesn't matter who or how many lose or become poor or are ejected by our great market. We (sic) are going global and can't afford to treat these

as individuals." So it must be irritating when these pesky people get

active and loud. Enter the media, and enter the care- ful manipulation of Who/What/Where/When/Why. The residents of Victory Square tent city get greased when dissing War Vets ("The war is like my asshole - it's behind me") and then Thornton Park people trashing the Crab Park people for not being "politi- cal enough" and the Crab park people scaring away a local kids' program etc. These little faux pas, even after taking into account the exaggeration by media, irritate supporters - and divide and conquer rules. It's hard to know where to go fiom here, but calls to

write MLAs or 'put pressure' on the Province seem kind of empty. Keep watch and keep responding, as the homeless will be seeing a lot of new faces in April 2004. The Liberals/Campbell/Socreds/CEOs have set it up so those with the most sympathy or empathy with low income people will likely be in the position of evicting welfare recipients and being blamed for "causing" the problem. Those with the power right now want us to believe

that our situation is hopeless, but Spirit is in us, on us, all around us. Be strong.

By PAULR TAYLOR

community safety in the west end.

I attended a meeting last week where people spoke of the visible drug addiction: needles, people shoot- ing up in their parking stalls, numerous break-ins, people sleeping in parks and doorways .... not feeling safe.

meetings of citizens were being orgaized ..... building managers too were organizing. people wanted more police, more prisons ......

This is the burden the d.t.e.s. has faced for decades many were quiet about this situation as long as it stayed there in the d.t.e.s. but they too have a community, children and elderly to protect . The political will to solve these problems has not been there Cjust bandages); now it is spilling over.

government cutbacks to programs - the social safety net - have left us all vulnerable. and more cuts coming ...

A large, red-faced, angry man stood at the meeting and said, "These people are vermin. Just vermin!" ..... he complained that he was ashamed when taking a tourist around - there was a man lying outside London Drugs on Robson St .... and that he was grubby ..... If he had no money and no home and no medicine and was sick he too would be grubby ... would he then be vermin?

We can't lump everyone together1 different people have different problems ..... like no job .... sickness ..... addiction ...... poverty .....

How can you stay clean when you have no home? How can you not be addicted when there is little option other than a dirty needle to take away the pain.

Ifyou are mentally ill and nobody is supervising your medicine ....

Seniors can get dementia; services for them are con- stantly cut (like homemakers)

I have seen elderly people that are wandering home less and sick,

3

With more cutbacks nursing homes are hll hospitals are full but beds are closed

I saw a young man in a wheelchair (no legs) heading down to Stanley Park with his clothes strung on the back of his chair ... I asked, "Are you O.K?'? he said "I'm having a bad time." he was on Davie just rolling down the hill.

drugs there are pushersldealers on our comers now to get rid of them we have to look to the affluent neighbourhoods where the rich drug financiers live.. they seldom get arrested they are clean-looking folk but no one says that they are vermin ..... they provide the finances but probably don't even take drugs ..... maybe they are the vermin we need to get rid of

We must create the political will ... we must take back our right to live in peace and harmony to be able to walk our streets at night ..... It has to start at the top, not the bottom.

Sheila baxter

Babes in the Woods I first learned about the "Babes" when I joined the

Main and Hastings book club. It meets every Thurs- day at noon in the Carnegie Learning Centre to dis- cuss this year's One Book, One Vancouver selection which is Timothy Taylor's Stanley Park.

Mr. Taylor was writing a book about Stanley Park and had decided to include a murder of some sort so

that he could develop some characters for his story. While doing research for his book he came across the actual real life story of an unsolved murder in Stanley Park. The story was called "Babes in the Woods." It was about two brothers who had been murdered in Stanley Park in the mid-to-late 1940's.

At the time of the discovery of the murder it was thought the skeletons were of a boy and a girl. This was to cause the case to become unsolvable. The police were looking for a missing girl and boy and therefore did not follow up leads about two boys. It was because of the work of a Sargeant Brian Honey- bourn in the mid 1990's and his fiiend Dr. David Sweet, a forensics dentist, which led to the actual identification of the remains as two boys. Because of the time interval and the way records were kept it is highly unlikely that the case will ever be solved. Retired detective Honeybourn has a very good the- ory about what actually happened. It has to do with an unbalanced prostitute, an untimely move and two unwanted children. Thoroughly disgusting and very sad, it is also very fascinating. As part of the book club, we decided to take a trip

to the Vancouver Police Centennial Museum and see their exhibit about the "Babes." It's only a block and a half From Carnegie and it has a couple of very interesting women who manage the place. Marie is the manager. Because we live and work in the Downtown Eastside and are financially insolvent, she let us tour the Museum for fiee. We joked with her and had a pretty good time, although it can be very gruesome if you let it. She invited me to come back anytime if 1 wanted to show the Museum to anyone. That was really nice of her. She also said that she could use a volunteer and who better to ask then someone who is already volunteering. 1 thought about it and now I do a bit of volunteer work for her during the week. Then I met the other lady who runs the place. Her name is Jordana, another very fiiendly person and she is the museum curator..

It can be a scary place if you let it. They have a morgue, a jail cell and some very interesting artifacts in the old coroner's court. One of the things 1 liked looking at was the old Harley that some Constable on Patrol (cop) used to ride. What a great looking motorcycle. They also have old badges, weapons of all sorts, and funny money.. I could go on about the very interesting exhibits but it's better if you go and look for yours& Take a 6iend as it can be very,

I

very scary if you know what I mean. It would be worth the time to take a stroll down memory lane and see how the people used to commit crimes. It can be relaxing and very informative or scary and upsetting. BE CAREFUL! I It's at 240 East Cordova Street. if you want a i

guided tour you should phone ahead to see what's available. The number is 604-665-3346. They'd be

' happy to give you all the information you need about hours and admission costs and anything else you

I need to know. ha1

'DJ Mix & Friends' - with Cody Karaoke with 'DarreI!hthe Duke' Friday, September 5th, 2003 7-IOpm in the Carnegie Theatre ReJLeshments Served to quench yur thirst by our very own Egor!

know We want to thank How to turn a computer on What a program is. How to use a mouse. How to point and click. What single clicking versus double clicking is. How to open and close windows. How to properly shut a computer OR

The Internet in Action These classes are for computer users who have a basic understanding of h o b to use a computer and want to learn how to apply that to using the Internet. The will be 4 separate classes:

Class I (Sept 06): What is the Internet and how do I navigate it? Class 2 (Sept 13): How do I search for things on the Internet? Class 3 (Sept 20): What is E-mail, how do I get an E-mail account, and how do I use it? Class 4 (Sept 27): What is Word Processing and how does it help me use the Internet? Each class will be Saturday morninp from 10:OO am to 12:OO pm in the Computer Room. Classes are free, but you must have a valid Carnegie Membership Prior- ity seating will be given to those who have attended prior classes, but general seating will be on a first come basis. Class size is limited to a maximum of 7 people.

IBA JEAN KANE. Kitchen MARTIN SEARS, Computers, Learning Centre

for their dedication and commitment towards

VOLUNTEERS - YOU ARE TRULY #1 I write this with a heavy heart as we have lost two of our Carnegie family members this month through death. Both, aside &om all else they were as human beings, were volunteers; our rough tough cream puff, George Nicholas, and Bob Trapp whom I was personally rooting for with his battle with cancer. He lost the baffle and I am very, very sad for that. The spirit of volunteerism is a passion of mine -

mostly because of the people that embody a spirit which compels them to do service for the good of others. Because of you, I get to be around what moves me the most almost every day. I am often humbled by the goodness I see in so many of you. If I were a fairy god mother I would wave my magic wand and make everything good for you, but all I can do is tell you how much I appreciate you and hope that my sincerity reaches your hearts. All of you who do so much for those who can never repay you, may your own spirits be enriched.

Colleen

THE MILITANT MOMS

EXCERPT FROM THE DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE COMMUNITY PLAY

(We see a unit at the Raymur Housing Complex where four low income mothers are drinking tea.)

SALLY: Can anybody spare 50 cents for the bus? (They look into their pockets and bags. No quarters. All shake their heads.)

SALLY: If the government would only provide . . . .. CARRIE: Sally, no one ever listens to moms on welfare."

SALLY: (sarcastic) If you're poor, you don't have the brains to rub two sticks together to make a fire.

MEG: What's the bright side of poverty?

LINDA: My purse is lighter!

SALLY: My kids are lighter!

CARRIE: My cupboards are lighter! (MOMS laugh)

MEG (soberly) : 1 work, girls, but it's always part time. I can't feed the kids on what I make. I'm poorer than when I was on welfare.

SALLY: I bake, sew stuff, clean house, work so hard to make a little money, but there's nothing to save. I'm one pay cheque away from total disaster. (Mimes holding a gun to her head.) I get sick. (click) Lose my job. (click) Get depressed. (w A car accident. (click; lowers her hand) Everything goes to hell.

LINDA: We're getting poorer every year and feeling grateful we're not bloody homeless.

(TELEPHONE Rings. No one picks it up.).

CARRIE: I'm afraid to pick it up. What if it's the bill collector? (Picks up the phone and listens.) Yes, hello.. . No, I didn't receive anything in the mail ..... You're cutting welfare by $6 a month? (Slams down the phone.) How the hell am I supposed to pay the rent with my welfare cheque? And feed the kids? Do I have to move back into that hotel room full of cockroaches?

3 MOMS (chorus): In a Balmoral room a cockroach creeps in and out of cracks. She's sniffing around for a place to lay her hundreds of tiny eggs. She crawls out of the sheets into the pocket of a John who's getting tricked, Goes home to him in Shaughnessy to live with his wife and kids." m O M S laugh.)

THE WELFARE MOTHER'S SONG Mothers:

My workers says I mustn't scam, Or I ' l l land in one helluva jam, But 1 have to cheat in order to eat, Cause the government don't give a damn."

I have a young son who resembles a weed, His shoes are too short for his feet, My hnds are too short to allow for his feed, If 1 buy shoes, then what will he eat?"

CARRIE: They're forcing me back onto the streets. I'm only 28 but I feel like an old woman.

MEG: Don't let them force you to give up the most important thing of all - hope.

CARRIE: Maybe I'll find a man with money.

LINDA: Maybe I'II win the lottery.

SALLY: Maybe I'II get sick and die and it won't matter. (Silence.)

MEG: Well, I think I'll always be poor. But when you're dead, you sure as hell can't take it with you. (Laughs.) We're still alive and kicking. They haven't ground us down yet. See you next week or maybe 1 won't. Maybe I' l l get hit by a bus. At least I'll eat in the hospital.

(JANE bursts into the room.)

JANE: Girls - we have to do something about those trains now! Our kids won't make it to adulthood!

MEG: Jane, what's happened?

JANE: Two kids hanging off the end of a box car as the train's flying down the tracks!

LINDA: Oh, no! But what can we do? We've tried -

ALL: (The next four lines are spoken at the same time) Letters! Phone calls!

! Petitions! Gone to City Hall! For three years!

CARRIE: Nothing works!

MEG: They won't reroute the trains.

SALLY: They won't change the schedule.

LINDA: They won't build an overpass.

JANE: Wait! Who owns the tracks anyway?

MEG: The US Railway Burlington Northern owns the tracks, but the CNR moves the cars.

SALLY: What's the difference between the CNR and the CPR?

LINDA: Canada owns the CNR and the CPR owns Canada. [EVERYONE laughs.)

JANE: Well, they don't own us! Tomorrow morning when the train comes, we'll go stand on the tracks. We'll stop the train!

LPJDA: That's it!

MEG: We need women who won't jump off the tracks when the trains come.

ALL: We'll get everyone on the tracks at 8 am.!

NOTES: The scene "Militant Moms" is written by Savannah Walling and has been inspired by (and sometimes includes quotes@om) the writings of Sheila Bmter, Robert Sarti , Sandy Cameron and the B.C. Welfare Joke Book, as weu as by interviews with Muggs Sigurgierson, Sandy Cameron, and Leith Harris.

"I Read in the News today, Oh boyyy ....." So, I was reading in paper over breakfast that the

Disability review is over. Turns out that of almost 62,000 people, only about 400 actually didn't have conditions that met the standards. That works out to about 0.64%.

Remember that big crackdown by the NDP on Welfare fraud? Where they found that only about 2% of all people committed it?

Anyway, the big reason for the review in the first place was to ensure that the Taxpayers were getting their money's worth. So let's take a quick look at that

A person on Disability receives a base amount of $786 versus the base amount of $5 10 for a healthy person. A difference of $276. Multiplied by 400 comes to $1 10,400 each month or $1,324,800 a year. That's what simple moth will tell us about the cost to the Taxpayer for those 'illegitimate' 400. Now, here's a problem. I don't have the actual num-A

review over the same period of time, one year. However, there are some things to be considered in trying to make a logical assumption. What was the cost to create the 23 page form? How

much did it cost to print the 62,000 forms? How much did it cost to deliver those forms? How many people were involved in receiving the completed forms? What were their wages and benefits? How many people were involved in reviewing the forms themselves? What were their wages and benefits? What was the cost of 62,000 reply letters? What was the cost of delivering those letters? What extra costs, such as consultations and outside contracts, where incurred over the review process? Like I said, I don't have the actual numbers, but the

Freedom of Information and Privacy Act ensures that we can get them. In the meantime, consider some answers to those questions. Maybe ask a few of your own.

bers of what the Ministry spent in conducting the A' Sarge

[ When I told her that a great many of our single par-

DO WE HAVE SOUP KITCHENS?

I have an elderly cousin Marium, who lives in Mex- ico in a trailer with a vegetable garden attached. Her elderly husband died working in that garden after having been in Mexico for over twenty years, work- ing for his church, feeding and clothing the poor. Marium continues on, alone, with help from other church members, who try to keep a shed on their church property full of bags of beans and other sta- ples. Marium takes a break now and again to come to Canada for more funding for food. She is here now to tiy to gain enough to buy large bags of beans to share out to as many Mexican poor as possible. Her aim is to hold back starvation with a daily meal. Several of her hungry and homeless try to work, but most of the jobs are seasonal, the wages very low and there is no welfare system down there. 9

' ent mothers in the Lower Mainland are scheduled to be cut off welfare in April of 2004, which will mean there will be no welfare up here either, all she could say is, "Are there no Soup Kitchens?' She reminded me of Dickens' Scrooge and the poor in his time. Apparently there are so many poor in Mexico that they have to join morning line-ups at soup kitchens since there is no other way to eat. That is also hap pening on a daily basis here in Vancouver, and elsewhere in B.C.After April of next year there will be so many more single mothers here in the lower mainland seeking out 'soup kitchens'. The line-ups will be very long, with restless babies and pre teens in tow. These poor, mostly young women may end up worrying about their children turning to crime. There may not even be enough cheap clothing left in the Salvation Army and Value Village to clothe their children for school, so either they go in rags or they stay away. This is where we can compare B.C. fami- lies with the Mexican poor. Lower mainland tent cities may increase. More and

more of those citizens who do have sufficient shelter and food will firid themwlves in the minority in low income and no income areas. After April, the poor are going to be much more obvious. And, as time goes by, all facets of society will realize how cruel the B.C. government is. In Mexico there is no wel- fare. In British Columbia there might be, but only if our single parent mothers plead for help because their children are close to death's door fiom lack of food, or without proper shelter. Reluctant Mothers and children are already being forced to take jobs at way below poverty levels as they do in South American Countries. And some of our youth forced to leave school early & work in low-income busi- nesses so that they can have at least one meal a day.

Single Parent mother's may have their children taken fiom them, just to save the government money, but Foster parents need to be paid to look after them, as you well know. Saving the govern- ment money seems to be the politicians only issue here. It looks like Campbell and his group is becom- ing very much like England during Dickens time and our present South American and the Mexican gov- ernments.

By DORA SANDERS

Bumf inger 4 Maybe you've met Pete.. or someone like him lurking in the hall, behind bathroom stalls, waiting to pounce - 'Gotta smoke?' That's Pete, Pete the Mooch.

can't shake him ya know; everyday he's there pissed off when he's told NO A Thousand Times NO . . .never learns save to return, 'Gotta smoke? That's Pete, Pete the Mooch.

Have no fear! he's always near like a bad dose of clap

he's always coming back: 'Gotta smoke?' That's Pete, Pete the Mooch.

We told Pete, to his utter dismay. "Rock'll be $12.50 tomorrow." "Oh No! How'll.1 pay?" "Besides I haven't got a 12.50 bill anyway.. ." 'Gotta smoke. Need a toke.' That's Pete, the street's meanest joke. 'Gotta smoke?' That's Pete the Mooch. Go, Pete, Go.

Armand Stilltoe

addiction don't mention to be certain inhuman that's me tonight watching you just one more if you live after all this on the streets madness don't ask for 1 alone afraid

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charles fortin

Flight Patterns The freedom to wander, and the freedom to just calmly roam Is being torn asunder in the Downtown Eastside, as it is known You try to cut down an alley and you're headed off at the pass Who knows whether you're safe, walking slow or quite fist Downtrodden people either dodging the fUzz or running on downs You glance over your shoulder to see if anyone's kicking around After cocking your ears you neither see sight nor hear sound You are off on a trip to some fantastic faraway place Wondering if you'll ever come back in your current headspace 'Where in hell is the h n on this ride? I don't know where I'm going' Maybe you're wasting your time - is this scene right or wrong Time is flying quickly away, without reason or a simple rhyme Are you then down in the dumps or just having one hell of a time? You may be running scared, mind spinning, 'round and 'round If you pour it on too hard you may wind up in the Lost 'n Found.

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Applying Effort & Will to Change By Larry Trunkey

This series of articles looks at the seven conditions that are necessary for change to occur. We will examine how these seven "precursors of change" are relevant to getting a job, keeping that job, and getting ready for our next job.

The Seven Precursors Of Change 1: A Sense of Necessity

2: Willingness or Readiness to Experience Anxiety or Difficulty

3: Awareness 4: Confronting the Problem

5: Effort or Will Toward Change 6: Hope for Change

7: Social Support for Change I

In this issue, we look at precursor #5, Effort or will toward change. Effort and will are like two sides of a coin that we spend every time we try to do anything in our lives. Whether we're trying to lift a heavy box or trying to stay awake, the energy we expend requires effort. We also need to involve our will to get started and to continue exerting effort. To do any work, including changing our lives, we need both effort and will in order to get started, to work on something, and to work though that something to get it done.

Confronting our problems requires clarity, intention, and opportunity. Employment programs

like The Job Shop can provide you with the opportunity to change. You also need to draw upon your inner resources to commit and carry out change.

If someone asks me to help him or her carry a heavy piece of furniture, I ' l l ask, "How far? Across the room or, across the street and up three flights of stairs?" We'd all like to know in advance how much effort a particular task will require before we decide to proceed. If you are contemplating making a big change in your life, like returning to work, you would probably like to get some help. You might want someone to help you learn about the landscape and terrain before you start your journey. You'll want to know what kind of effort is going to be required. You may also need support along the way. Coaches, counsellors, and structured programs that guide you toward your goal step by step can help.

Of course, you will need to make the journey yourself by providing both the effort and the will toward change. Luckily, you can and will develop your strength and energy through every effort you make. In much the same way that you can develop your leg or arm muscles by walking or lifting, with each success you will grow stronger. You'll also develop more confidence and greater willpower.

In the next newsletter, we'll look at the importance of remaining hopeful about your ability to change. This series of short articles is inspired by research on the precursors of change by Fred J. Hanna. I hope that this information will help you to make the changes you want to see in your life.

Larry Trunkey is the Program Manager of The Job Shop at Tradeworks Training Society. The Job Shop supports residents of the DTES in their return to work. Participants develop and broaden the skills they will need to get and keep a job. Federally funded by HRDC, The Job Shop starts new participants every week. Program information sessions are held Tuesdays, at 1 p.m. Call 604-253-9355 and ask for The Job Shop.

W Need A Chance To Prove You're Ready, Willing & Able To Work? v , - L

Get the you deserve!

Find out what your next step needs to be. - Call to attend the ~ o b Shop Info session. 604-253-9355 u - -

@ ~ r 0 g r m funded 5 by HRDC 1+1 Human Resources b6veloppement des

Development Canada ressources humaines Canada

My Opinion on Medicine

Ironically, the people we entrust with our health are the same people who endanger that health with their seemingly reckless approach to the medications they dole out to us daily.

We grew up with Dr. Kildare, believing in the vir- tue of those who recited the Hippocratic Oath, never believing those very same people could be poisoning us with their irresponsible use of pills such as Pro- zac, Paxal, all thoe chemical band-aids we use to fight the dementia we commonly refer to as the rat race of life. Take "Charlie" - feed him drugs we can't verify as

safe, then turn around and blame him for behaviour caused by such substances as Prozac. It recently beat out Valium as the #1 substance prescribed in both the U.S. and Canada.

Remember Valium? Once touted as a cure-all for anything from anxiety to sore muscles, Valium doesn't show off it's power until you try to quit. The . result is someone so screwed up that they really hesitate to allow "benzoids" to detox safely. The medical establishment won't 'fess up to the damage they've done, both with Valium previously and with Prozac now. Both are extremely dangerous and have, in some cases, led to death. No records are kept to show how many people have

died as a result of trusting their G.P. with their lives and unknowingly becoming addicted. Never have I heard one doctor suck it up and tell the truth about the garbage they foist on an ignorant public. Some- how we chose to believe the victims were the engi- neers of their own demise, never checking to see exactly what 01' Charlie was on when he fieaked- out and became violent!?

We don't blame the pills or even the doctor who gave the pills to 01' Charlie. No, we blame Charlie. Both the companies that make these poisons and

the white-collared pushers masquerading as health professionals make out like bandits. Meanwhile Charlie punches out his wife when withdrawal seeps into his addled nervous system. Do you believe, even for a moment, that the good Dr.s ever take their own pills? That's laughable! They're not the ones who are insane!! "People like "Charlie" are (and probably deserve everything they get). So Here You

1 Go - another month of Paxal.. and then we'll try these, they're new!"

None of this is new. It's the same tired old crap all wrapped up in a new package: new name same result Poor Charlie's out in the street, so dazed he doesn't

know what he just did to his family as the sirens close in. No Charlie, you won't see your doctor in jail, but a supply of Prozac, Paxal and a whole list of new drugs are just waiting for you. The criminal behaviour of MDs goes unnoticed and'

unpunished. How many more people will die at the hands of prescription-crazy, pill-pushing madmen? You don't know? Neither do I. Guess I'll keep feed- ing Ritalen to my kids. ' Supposed to help.' (That's what Dr. SureDeath says anyway.) And we have to trust our doctors, don't we?

Jack D. Zaster

Uncle Harry

The worse part of life is when you watch a loved one slowly dying and there is really not much you can do about it. We have been struggling with many emo- tions and a lot of conflict. When a family is not up with many of their affairs, we can not de anything.

By this 1 mean if you do not have a Power Of At- torney or a Will it is not us who make the decision - it is the doctors who live by their oath and the nurses who take direction directly fiom the doctor. They ,

seem to decide wither or not you live or die, with the state/governrnent and its money-pressure.

We have been watching such a story come alive at Saint Paul's Hospital with my Uncle Harry, who was admitted by a resident of where he lived. At first he was doing fine, responding to treatment for two weeks. Then he took a turn for the worst and has been on a dying bed since.

He has been kept alive by life support apparatuses, which caused him to get many infections, which led to him getting a breathing tube in his throat, and then he's developed a bowel obstruction along with his kidneys shutting down - leading the doctors to set him up with a kidney machine. To watch all of this is breaking my heart, but there

is not a dam thing I can do, even though I am a rela-

tive. YOU see Uncle has a brother who lives on van- Whale Rider - inverting the gaze couver Island and when he came down to visit, Un- cle was doing okay. It was a week after he left that There are two points in this Niki Caro film where things started going wrong. Uncle's brother Stanley our gaze is drawn to moments of exhaustion or de- is a fisherman and this is the fishing season. spair. In the first case, we witness the near emotional Don't get me wrong he loves his brother and would collapse of someone who's inner strength has, until

do anything for him, but when one does not have a that point, seemed almost inexhaustible. In the sec- Will or Power OfAttorney it is difficult, even ifyou ond instance an entire group of people abandon hope are Emily. and turn away fiom their task. However, in both

So I am asking you as a friend to think about this, caws, the camera, wisely inviting us to invert our should it happen to you. Is your family or fiiends gaze, as it were, reveals that something else has been aware of your decisions? If not, it is likely out of and is happening, something intimately connected their hands and it is up to the medical profession and to, yet profoundly different fiom, what we have or your estate/government~public trustee. been witnessing.

Some have said this movie is about the tensions ,

It takes about 10 minutes to sit down with a reliable between progress and tradition, others that it is about person and work out your wants or needs on your patriarchyffeminism, or that it is about family rela- behalf All of this needs to be witnessed and nota- tionships. According to some, it is, in fact, about the rized by someone you trust will carry it out. Maori, or about leadership and the character of lead-

ers, while to others it is clearly a re-enactment of a By Margaret fable, or of, indeed, a myth. And I say it's just as

Ma and pa when down to the crickt2 much a demonstration of another response to those acting under some kind of ethical imperative than

MaryJane said they when real quick incarceration, institutionalization, or derision. That

Billy Bob got it wrong MaryJane was singin' a song. That Clan's got somethin' twisted Liddie Baby Annie didn't miss it she jiggledand wiggled when she &&led Ma had her suck fiom a thimble Townsfolk say that's why she's so nimble. Grannie and Liddle Annie were the spryest of spry Liddle Anne belched and Grannie let out a sigh Everyone said Grannie was a crank, crank, crank MaryJane and Billy Bob she did spank, spank, spank She kept tryin' to teach them a proper way to speak She said, "Ma and Pa when down to the creek" Her beau, Judge Hawkin, couldn't stop coughin' Yellin 'Out a order, out a order, Turn turn the stem' Liddle Annie gigglin' 'My turn! My turn!' Billy Bob said, "What's wrong with your ah-brain MaryJane? Townsfolk say-an 'This clan's insane!' Sing a song that's syrupy sappy We can all sing along and be happy!" Ma and Pa and Liddle Baby Annie, Billy Bob, MaryJane, Judge Hawkin and Grannie.

Jairnie Francine McCabe

is, it posits a place where actions of the highest ethi- cal order, like those of Wang Wei standing in front of the tanks at Tiananmen Square on his way home fiom shopping, are honoured. The film does this by inverting our gaze, as I have

mentioned, not without giving us visual clues to this inversion. Watch the way in which the Reiputa, the pendant, is worn. I mentioned this to a couple people and they hadn't even noticed it. And yet, the camera shows us over and over that very detail. And, more significantly, the film, at the end, challenges asks us to invert even the way we see ourselves, let alohe the Maori.

Three men I talked to who have seen the film all said it was good but they thought, and I'm not joking about this, that it would have been better if "she (Paikea) had died." (Unlike the similarly named an- cestor, the Whale Rider in the group's central myth who fought despair and lived to found their village!) Why? One said, "to teach the old man a lesson." (Like, lessons in despair or defeat are more valid than anything else.. a crock of quasi-hipster hamster droppings, if you ask me.) The other two said, "it would have been a better film if she had died." That is, they refuse the ending. These men, in one way, $):

DOWN'I'OWN EASTSIIIE NEEIILE EXCIIANCE - 221 Mdn; 8:3Brm - 8pm evcry day Y O W I I ~1iyq)LE EXCIIANGE VAN - 3 Routes: ACTIVITIES CJy - 5:45pm - I l ASpm SOCIETY . . Overnipht - 12:30am - 8:30am

0 - - - -- a - - 1 'I IIE N):\VSLE'I'I'ER I S A YlIHI.I(:A'I'ION OF 'I'IIF.

2003 1)ONATIONS Libhy 11.-$60 -3 , ('AHNEt;lF. COhlihltlNI'I'V ('EN.1 RF. ASSOCIA'CION. 4-

Uarry f w Sam R.-$50 Eve [:.-$I8 t! 5 Articles represent the vlews ollndividunl a

Nancy 11.$30 Margrrct 0.-$25 s 0 cnnlrlbutors and not of the Assoclrtlon.

llulda It.-$5 Val A.$18 Wm 1B-$20 f! 8 Mary C-S5' "'lda '-$I5 "Ir '.-"' have failed the test that the movie, (not entirely in- llruce J.-$50 IIC'I'F-$ I Q Wes K . 4 15 2 6% tentionally, by the way, but by it's refusing to give in Charlcy 1)-$5 Ray*an&25 <;ram -$IOU 0 to the easy, hip, or expected) presents us. It is the I'addy 4 5 0 Sarah E.-$ I 0 Charles F.-$ I 0 . Hose~t~ary Z.420 Joanna N.-$20 simplest test, really, How can anyone fail?

Jim i z . 4 150 Glen 1B.475 John S.-$100 Now this is very saddening to me, to hear these men

l'cnny <;.-$20 Lir. S.$5 Jenny K.-$18 S say such things, but it demonstrates that the film

Cclcste W.$30 Sandy C.$20 Ilara C.420 does indeed test our ability to see what else is h a p

Ellen W.-$1 50 N w c y C.-$25 , $ pening. Rockingguys 4 2 5 Joanne 11.-$20 The largest artifact in the movie was presented to

The Edge Co~nnauniiy Liaison CtI -6200 the town after the movie was made. This is some-

Jay 11.-$25 l)uL S.425 Cl~rislopher 1M25 thing the director reveals in only one interview I've

Anonynous $4.02 found. What is more generally known is that the film used the real people of the real town (no 1 year in the making Hobbiton, this) as extras and indeed many larger roles (Hemi, for example). The town participated in the creation of this remarkable movie, the elders approved it and it is funny - not in spite of

I this but because of it - and it also shies fiom none of 1 the difficulties faced by the Maori. Yet, the only

thing it basks in is the impulse to "do what needs to be done." (This is something to remember when we talk about the DTES Community Play.) The movie only makes sense taken as a whole. The

ending neither lessens the lessons of, nor weakens the deeply affecting parts of, the rest of the film. In kct, it amplifies them. Our emotional response to the film may be great, but the validation of the "ethi-

to70-t64t Commerdrl Or., VsL 3V3 cal" impulse I spoke about is the real message. It is

DERA MWW: 77$'0790 tar: ns*oeea the worst cynicism, that is, it is a projection of deep selfishness, no doubt aided and abetted by the cyni-

c ~ * help You with: - 4 ' IBllone & $a@ Mailboxes cism of the corporate world, to reject anything but Welfare problems; death as truly meaningful, or truly worthy.

1,andlord disputes; I must add, in closing, that my consternation at cer- tain responses to the movie take nothing at all away 6om the honestly beautiful film that it is. My 7 year,

[Insafe living old son liked it better than Finding Nemo. And that is a good thing.

Dan Feeney

Everyday stories from Main and Hustings: Our beds are burning!

It happened last week, almost at sundown. I was riding my bike near the beach at Crab Park (which should be re-named as Vancouver Women's Park after the missing women-unsolved crimes), and when I reach the little Dock, a group of tourists were filming and taking pictures of of the city. One of them suddenly said "smells very good, we

better look for the place where the good smell comes". They thought Gastown, but no. It was a very little stove just a couple of centimetres from the water.. .one of my good neighbours with no fixed address was cooking some casserole and, as a matter of fact, it smelled really good. The tourists left look- ing for the tancy bistro. .and my neighbour, well he was enjoying himself! He was quiet, very calm, in peace, his guitar next to him .. .he started playing an old song of The Hollies. I gazed at the sky over the mountains -sort of dark

grey clouds were drifting. After all, nearly 5000 square kilometres and many homes and businesses, had been consumed by fire in the last weeks (if fhey are lucky they may get assistance fiom the govern- ment, I wish that would be the case for all my NFA neighbours).

Almost ten years after (1 968) George Stewart wrote a book called "Not as rich as you think" and his main conclusion was: "When some hture historian shall sit to summarize what the new generation of Americans has accomplished, his climatic sentence could read: 'of the water they made a cesspool; of the air a depository for poisons, and of the good earth itself, a dump where viruses nuzzled in piles of rehse" Twenty after Stewart (1988), Midnight Oil, a group of Aussie musicians, wrote a song that said: "How do we sleep when our beds are burning?" By the way, one of them (Peter Garrett) was stalked, har- assed and verbally assaulted when he came to BC to promote the protection of Clayoquot Sound. Fifteen years after Midnight Oil (yes, the present

year 2003), Canadian Robert Hunter published a great book called "2030" where he points that unless we start doing something radical and accelerated, by 2030: Caput! Finito! Ce fini! Se acab6! Or as Jim I Morrison would've said: "The end my only fiiend." Well, in reality Mr. Hunter does not use that lan- guage.. . after all he is not a General or a Terminator. But as scientifically as it could be

-7 - h ,, t)3&/@..

A) Kyoto was vrevared in 1992. so now is obsolete

We are breaking all the records of high tempera- (what a shame that some one from Texas and AI-

tures, not only in BC but also in the whole world. berta still thinks Kyoto is too much. . .ah the igno-

Just in Europe more that 10,000 people are dead rance!). We need a new Environments protocol,

because of the heat wave, and tomaice things worst something that started in Ohio (nobody can tell for sure what happened) triggered a massive blackout that caused great damage in Ontario ... So a couple of things came to mind: In the late fifties the French scientist Pierre Gasscar wrote a book called "The Menace" and one of his key highlights was this phrase: "We are destroying the planet, and sooner or later, nature will pass us the bill".

many more times aggressive, to save our planet; the future of our Children.. .and maybe the very same "free market Economy"; otherwise production will face a massive blackout, and us. . .extinction. I

B) The deforestation rate, the pollution index and the I

increasing of the world temperatures added to the I

ozone effect, will cause an accelerated destruction of the environment and we will experience extreme Mega Disasters, and when the level of the sea will rise, the UN will be forced to introduce a new con- 1

cept: Environmental Refuges. C ) Some actual world leaders will be judged by in- ternational tribunals on charges ofcrime against humanity, neglecting the application of environ- mental alternatives, when still was time to do it. D) Mr. Hunter points that if we do not take the proper precautions, "our descendants will spit on our photographs because we neglected the solutions to the problem we are living.. .now. OUR BEDS ARE BURNING, how can we sleep?

What a sad thing. Well the whole book is a complete treatise on the environment (we should have a refer- ence copy of "2030" at our Reading Room for eve- rybody to read), and my highlights are nothing com- pared with all the interesting facts that Robert Hunter contributes as a result of his lifetime fight in favour of the life of our planet. Someone may say Robert Hunter is exaggerating things, but just recall that after the Titanic hit the iceberg, its design engi- neer made calculations and said it would sank in less than three hours. He was called a lunatic because - "this ship will never sink, and could be floating for days...". . Back in the seventies, a teacher of history used to

" tell me one story: "Once upon a time a rich foreigner found the great- est diamond ever, in the Sahara desert. But his car was out of gas and he had no water. That man came walking on the sand, and after a while, he found an aboriginal man mounted on a camel who gave him some water. After a moment, the man of the car told to the man of the camel:

"take me to the city ,I'll pay you $30". The man of the camel answered: "Sir, I'll take you to the city because it's the right thing to do, pay me or not; However, you must be aware that you are not in a position to give orders, if I leave you here, chances are you won't last long. After that, anybody passing by, will pick up that big diamond, which under your circumstances would be worthless."

Before I left "Vancouver Women's Park" on that sunset, I came to say hi to my neighbour ofthe cas- serole. We had an affable talk, shook hands and I left. He was in peace, singing that old song of The Hollies: "Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe ..." This article belongs to Him.

By Jorge Escolan-Suay

Lotsa talk about how you'd sleep anywhere and yr cheap women well, I resemble those remarks or 1 did some time ago Some days I walked by you as you got older and crazier (as we all do) and wondered who on earth I'd slept with but cuzza th liquor I never got close enuf 2 know just couldn't hang in 4 too long with yr bleary blue eyes beery mouthed blues

, I been down in th dumps (and th dumpsters) and shit outta luck 4 so long that down and out wasn't a life I could glorify or live any more We were one of those who-woulda-thought4 collisions juxtapositions between a dyed-in-th-wool feminist and a streetsmart wolf (forget th sheep's clothing!) and we both wrote love songs You always treated me like a lady a charmer a sweet-talker a real ol'fashioned guy You had wrong-side-of-th-tracks class no 2 ways about it even i n a hurricane you'da had style Last nite 1 kissed yr picture and lit yr candles and said goodbye with tears in my eyes Keep on singin making love with yr music and I'll see you again on th other side.

- D.W.

The book retails for $24 and may be purchased at: - Granville Books (850 Granville); - People's Co-op Bookstore (I 39 1 Commercial) - Spartacus Books (3 1 1 West Hastings) - Blackberry Books (Granville Island) - Dutbie Books (2239 w.4Ih Avenue)

For those of you seeking a simpler way to get your very own (even signed) copy, yes. you can come to the Newsletter Office on Carnegie's 2nd floor and, for a donation of $24 ($12 if you're on welfare or a pension) it happens. Get your fiiends, family, neigh- bours, strangers on the'street or bus or train or ferry to acquire one as well!! (Even DaVinci has one!) "Not another one?!" Gawd, it's like a bad habit!!!"

By PAULR TAYLOR

Did you know that Carnegie is tight with a dedi- cated core of agricultural activists in Lone Butte B.C.? Greetings from C.E.E.D.S.! (Community En- hancement and Economic Development Society.) Lots of Carnegie folks have become friends with

the CEEDS community since Lisa Endquist came to the D.E. from the commune in 1986 to link up with the street people here. She got a room at the Bal-

moral Hotel, then met Dave McConnell and Barry Morris in the pub. They introduced her to Carnegie and thus began the Carnegie connection. CEEDS grew out of the revolutionary spirit of the

yippy movement, but while Jerry Rubin became a yuppie stockbroker and bus-kisser, Eldrige Cleaver a misogynist, and Abby Hoffman kilt his own self, CEEDS strove to uphold the integrity of their ideals. The precepts of their philosophy are straightforward, pragmatic, and therefore revolutionary. " all people have to take part in the production of their means of life. By developing this relationship to production, people become conscious of the natural balances of the earth, and thereby become aware of the disrup- tion of balance that this old world creates. The build- ing of agricultural communes makes it possible for all people to take part in this production." (from The Revolutionary Hippie Manifesto, by the Ochiltree CommuneICEEDS, 1978. ). CEEDS began over thirty years ago with a burst of

energy from it's founder Jerry LeBourdais, and has accumulated a thick archive of social justice in- volvement since. An extraordinary level of commit- ment, co-operation, and hard work has also produced untold mountains of pure, organic soul-food, much of which ended up in the D.E. to be distributed by agencies like the Franciscan Sisters of the Atone- ment. A visit to CEEDS is truly a lesson in community.

The work is all shared equally, and goes from morn- ing till night. There7re animals to tend, (ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, pigs, sheep, geese, cows, horses, and humans.), hay to bale, snow to shovel, wood to cut, gardens to work, barns to mend, shit to haul, dishes to wash, and on and on and on. It all requires a lot of co-ordination, so a lot of time is spent working together on things as they come up and togetherness is the order of the day. People from the Downtown Eastside who are will-

ing to experience life in an agricultural commune are welcome to go to work at CEEDS.. We like to get to know a bit about the people who we send to CEEDS as an informal screening. Anyone interested is find- ing out more about CEEDS can telephone Shawn (689-0397) or Bob (253-47 1 8). Power to the People!

Shawn Millar

(an excerptfrom) SOCIAL MORALITY

That which provides the particularly emotional ideal ofthe mind with maiden inspiration to reach that Cosmic state is what we call morality. Every aspect of this morality goes on singing for humanity the song of the Infinite in the midst of the microcosms. Speaking in another strain, or rather I want to say in more obvious language, that the good faculties that help to establish one in the Cosmic state are the very ones that constitute the virtuous principles or morality. Social life has to sail along with the inspiration of and from this morality. Then alone the culmination of its weakening inner conflict and the beginning ofthe triumphant march of its proper development with all speed is possible. Along with this morality we must also know the difference between religion and the so-called Dharma.

The attainment of the abiding continuance in bliss, or the endeavour to attain it through constant cogitation in the subtler stratum of one's own characteristic state, is Dharma. This state of blissfulness is the Cosmic Entity of the wise people - the devotee's very soul. The word Dharma is often loosely used for the so-called religion. The reason being that the founders of almost all religions dished out their respective doctrines to the general mass, attributing to them an appellation of "God's own words". None of them, however, ever trod the path of logic or reason. Whatever might have been their motives, people have lost their supreme asset - their own characteristic, discriminating judgement. Was the consequence of instilling fear complex into the mind of the backward people of the Middle Ages, and thrusting upon them their own doctrines by such stuff as, "I am the messenger of God, what I say is God's own decree", beneficial to humanity or the society of living beings? Almost every religion has asserted that its followers alone are the chosen of God. The rest are accursed and under satanic fetters. Some have declared, "Our prophet is the only saviour. There is no way out of mundane suffering except his refuge." There is yet another dogma, "I am the last prophet, prayers must be said before God so many times, in such and such a manner and on such and such a day, such and such animals will have to be killed. All these are the desires of that same merciful God. Those of you that follow these principal injunctions shall attain the bliss of heaven on the day ofjudgement." Yet another says: "Know ye my son, thy God is the only God. Other's God is no God." Just think, everyone of these religions is preached in the name of universal fiaternity, and yet this universal fraternity has been kept within the bounds of a single community. With the plethora of these tall talks of universal fiaternity, humanity gasps h r breath. Inspired by the profound slogans of their respective religions rending through the air, when they flung themselves into orgies of genocide with their communal dances, keyed up to the wildest fienzy: such a sight would have made their founders- had they seen it - hide their faces in utter shame. Of the bloodshed perpetrated in the medieval world, the majority was but a corollary to this communal fiaternity. Directly or indirectly religion gives indulgence to communalism. It is the religion-centred kinship that goes by the name of communalism. Why in the Middle Ages alone, in the world of yore as well, repeated attempts to impart 'light' to the simple ignorant heathen had been made by the so-called religious people or camps, and these did not rest until they did something disastrous, in the majority of cases. Cherishing no real love of humanity, these standard bearers of religion never flinched - nor do they now - fiom applying force of arms, wiles and finance to gain some petty, mundane advantage. That is why I say, spiritual salvation apart, religions have proved flagrantly unworthy and incapable at every step in respect of any provision - even in the simple, carefree case of the crude world. Religions, by sowing the apple of discord among the people, have only prevented humanity at every step from accepting people as part and parcel of the indivisible human society, and in support of this preventive injunction they have added numerous paralogical precedents - a lot of mouldy, worm-eaten papyrus.

Religion wants to convert the human mind into a static state, for that which is static is prone to be an easy victim of rapacious scheming. Yet this inertness is the very antithesis of the mind's characteristics. A knotty problem! So the founders of the religions wanted people to shun their dynamic nature and, for fear or for illusion, accept certain specific ideas as infillible truths without question.

Take any of the so-called books of religion and you will seldom come across in them such a thing as tolerance of others' religious beliefs. I don't say that one should accept whatever is said by anybody, but surely non-acceptance and intolerance are not one and the same thing. Yet why this mania for refuting and rebutting others' views anyway? In philosophical books opinions may be discussed by way of relevancy, or without being disrespecthl the philosophical and psychological loopholes may be brought to light. But is the attempt at humiliating others symbolic of high mindedness? In these so-called books of religion there is a greater tendency to refute others rel- igious doctrines than to propagate their own. Seeing all these, real theologists and theosophists are unable to hold

. . ..

religions in any high esteem. The wise would say that even if a child says something logical it should be accepted, and even if the lotus-born mythological creator of the universe says something illogical, it should be rejected like a straw. It is not desirable to accept anything just because it is written in the scriptures, for ifsuch Illogical sayings be accepted and acted upon it results in the loss of Dharma and causes degeneration.

The derivative meaning of the word 'morality' is that which has in it the principle of carrying. It is the first step towards the path of spiritual practice- the persistent efbrts to establish spiritual contact or communion with God. So this acquaintance with morality does not end here. It completely ceases to be what it is if it fails to help humanity progress and develop to its maximum stature. That which is virtuous with the virtue of its guidance, that which is distinguished with its distinguishing attribute of inspiring, can on no account lose its dynamic characteristics by limiting itself to any specific time, space or person. So morality is a living force, the practice of which is capable of implanting humanity in the ultimate subtlety - iii the supreme knowledge through the medium ofrefined intellect. The term morality will be justified only if it can inspire humanity to reach that point from where the question of leading It elsewhere does not arise.

Morality is not the dreamy fantasy ofthe idealist, nor is it a means to the end ofthe materialist. It is such as presents itself before humanity with all the possibility of merging the atheistic objectivity into supra-mundane intuition.

Right at the time, or from that time onward, when the seed of activity is being sown, people will have to start inculcating the habit of morality. By activity I mean here social activity. Judging from this standpoint the juvenile mind is the best receptacle for morality. But who is to impart this moral training or education? Parents find fault with the teachers who in their turn argue as to how on earth they can take individual care in a crowd of two or three hundred. Although it is true that most of the parents are either illiterate or semi-literate, and it will be unjust to hope that most of the teachers are well educated, yet it will not be responsible to impose the whole burden on their shoulders. Increasing thestrength of the teachers in educational institutions may solve the problem partially but still the key to. the solution remains with the parents themselves. Where the parents are unfit to shoulder the responsibility, the teachers and well wishers of society will have to come forward to prove their greater sense of responsibility. Remember, when this morality, on which the very human existence is based, leads humanity to the Mest expression of its human-ness, then alone its practical value is properly realised. From the first expression of morality to the establishment in universal humanism -the concerted effort to negotiate the gap between the above two is what is called social progress. And the collective body of those who are engaged in the concerted effort to conquer this gap I shall call the society.

[fiom "Universal Humanism", p. 1 8-1 9, by P.RSarkar]

"Saint Anthony's biographer was another Egyptian, Saint Athanasius, whose theories on the Trinity, the Incarnation & the divinity of the Holy Spirit, set down 300 years after the murder of Jesus, werdare considered valid by Catholics today."

1 11-20: NA SVARGO NA RASA'TALAH

- 'There is no heaven, no hell." Traditional religions teach that the result of a 'good' life in line with scripture & dogma will result in an afterlife of eternal paradise and bliss; the result of a 'had' life is eternal, unbearable agony.

The theory was a creation of priests to control people through fear and allurements. Christ's teaching of reincarnation was destroyed in 553 A.D. in Constantinople by a council of church fathers.

- Dogma: Bad theorv presented as truth.

"Calvary Cemetery. . . was named in honor of a hill in Jerusalem, thousands of miles away. Many people believed that the son of the Creator of the Universe had been killed on that hill thousands of years ago. Dwayne Hoover (a character in this story) didn't know whether to believe that or not." (Neither do I - Ed.)

- tiom Breakfast of Charn~ions by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.