February 15, 2015 carnegie newsletter

. t: Carnegle路 FEBRUARY 15, 2015

FREE. Do not pay for this paper.

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NEW S LE TT E R 401 Main Street, Vancouver V6A2T7 604-665路2289

Index carnegienewsletter.org Website carnnews@shaw.ca email . ~arnnews@vcn.bc.ca

Which came First: Seeing or Believing?!

What you see is what you think you see? The great delusion is most people have their thinking guided, assisted and, truth be told, manipulated - even twisted. Let's consider some examples: 1.

A homeless man and his dog are sleeping somewhere close to a Tim Horton's (downtown?), not panhandling "aggressively" and apparently not doing anything wrong. That's how people here in the 'hood see it.. think about it. The manager or shift boss at Tim's thinks the guy is a parasite, making his customers nervous or angry or maybe talking loud enough to make others argue about it. Whatever set him off, he got a big cup of water, went outside, pulled off the homeless guy's blanket or opened his sleeping bag and poured the water all over him and his dog, soaking much of whatever was under said blanket.

People, maybe even most people in Tim's having coffee, got righteously indignant & started a social media thing calling for a boycott of this Tim Hortons and slagging the manager to hell and back. It was specific; it was up-front obvious; it was just wrong. , The sad part was the reasons being tweeted or emailed or whatever for doing all these pay backs to the business read almost 100% on why it was wrong .. the principle of the thing. No one started organising to look at why the guy was homeless, why there are hundreds of homeless people, what changes can each individual make or do in their own lives to help things and certainly no offers to do anything concrete except buy $4 coffees and $3 doughnuts somewhere else.

Ok. The inevitability of there being 'winners' & 'losers' under a capitalist system was the background justification for most of the righteously indignant.

People weighed in about homelessness being a 'lifestyle choice', but no one countered with how it's a lifestyle choice for people with money & means to gentrify neighbourhoods, driving prices up & forcing low-income people to leave. A lifestyle necessitating newer cars, expensive housing, paying for all manner of things not needed but just consuming to feel part of life and society and and and - that's not even or ever considered as distasteful as 'choosing' to be homeless. I 2.

When towers & condos spring up virtually everywhere, the low-income people detrimentally affected by such developments are treated as misfits and whiners if/when there are any kind of public hearings, much less consultations. They are rarely

asked and virtually never listened to when answering.

Contrast this to any kind of 'social housing' or plan to move poorer people into a wealthier area, like with a proposed site in Yaletown. There is an immediate and prolonged outcry from residents about their adamant refusal to accept any such thing. "They" were never consulted, much less asked, and they will mobilise against anything not to their supposedly unanimous liking.

But that's all part of how & why this thinking, these trends & ideas continue to be shaping forces. The conditi~ning is almost omnipresent - the seemingly unquestionable axioms include: "Wealth is the goal & it's accumulation is the desire of everyone" "The right to do anything to increase one's individual wealth is inalienable & sacred" "Being wealthy is right; being poor is wrong" "There is no way to stop the succession of the rich making more people poor" and, underlying all these, "It's your own fault if you're poor .. (& worse) a loser" All i'm saying is that these axioms, these obvious truths, are what the wealthy have been brainwashing people with for a long, long time. It's very difficult to see how our thinking gets manipulated because the brai~washing p~rmeates virtually every aspect of our wakmg & dreaming lives. Every time you come to a conclusion or seem overwhelmed by powerlessness, take a deep breath and look at whatever you are thinking and/or feeling. See things differently than just 'more of the same' or 'what else is new' We have to see with new eyes. Like Sandy Cameron wrote "Ul ' vve nee d a new map."

By PAULR TAYLOR

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We're Being Played Did you ever see the Simpsons episode where the employees of Montogomery Bums' Springfield power plant threaten to go on strike? With Homer as shop steward, they're demanding pay increases, more vacation time and. most importantly, the prompt addressing of their safety concerns in the dilapidated nuclear facility.

Oh yeah, and they also want tartar sauce in the staff cafeteria. Lots of it.

"Smithers," Mr. Bums says, rubbing his hands together with fiendish delight, "give them their tartar sauce."

The next scene the ecstatic employees, awash in tartar, carry Homer on their shoulders. However, salaries remain the same. and so does vacation pay and, most importantly, the plant is still a death trap.

Because of the Left's descent into cretinism and ineptitude. we now live in a world of tar tar sauce. Competing against itself the fractious Left stridently deals with an ever increasing number of quite separate causes, seemingly oblivious to (or maybe unconcerned with") achieving the greater good. The Left used to be about fairness and the greater good; now they're about special considerations and elitism. One injection site, some bike paths. transgender friendlypublic washrooms ... nice ... but it's all tar tar-and far too much political capital is spent in the acquisition of this sauce.

Money: that's all it's about. The nefarious economic engine that drives this world requires a complete overhaul. It is the international system of currency that determines the totality of life on this planet-and that system needs to fuck off and die. Something approaching egalitarism will be realized when the inane way in which wealth is accrued and distributed is abandoned.

As long as turning 100 dollars into 120 dollars is work, while turning 100 million dollars into 120 million is not work but simply inevitable, we're doomed. Right now we follow, for the most part, the Wild West economic philosophy of Milton Friedman. The common sense and compassionate monetary acumen of John Kenneth Galbraith is more like what we need I think.

Bears, trees, salmon, the ozone, poverty, LGBTQ, racism ... guns, nuclear weapons terrorism ... homelessness ... gentrification ... whatever your concern it all gets a whole lot better when Haliburton, Exxon, Union Carbide and US Steel and big banks don't run the world. We need to take the world back from those bastards. You deal with a problem by finding its point of origin. All our problems start with the fact that just a few have way too much. I personally can't get too excited by any issue other than that one, because no problem goes bye bye until that one is solved. End poverty? Good luck with that. Yeah, right, isolate that issue=cordon off that motherfucker from the very entity that created it and leave that entity unscathed-and see how much amelioration you get on the poverty front.

Poverty will just get worse sans a real revolution. (And how does a revolution start? Well, I had a dream recently where, in Vancouver, about a hundred people in a single day in a dozen or so different chartered banks-eight or ten taking part in each robbery-take whatever money one can hope to get from a single teller armed only with a note and a ball peen hammer. Then the anarchistlbank robbers, in my dream, ran outside with the booty and threw the money in the street. If something like that were to happen-despite the fact that it'd be non-violent and very little insured dough would be taken-the fallout would be wild. The Establishment, the Plutocracy, would freak right out.

Marshall Law would likely result. The lie of our putative Democracy would be laid bare.)

Anyway, I do knowethat the first step toward something better is to stop concerning ourselves with tar tar. Because falling into that trap is commensurate with rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Let's get our asses out of our heads and stop fretting about fucking terrorism and realize who the real enemy is. Though don't get me wrong, I love Charlie Hebdo and I despise Islamic fascism. But Islamic fascism is a symptomatic, secondary issue that, like every problem in the world, when you get right down to it, is linked to the profound inequity of the global monetary system.

By DanPage

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Food,food,food I don't mean to be rude ,B ut when I go to my cupboard I feel like Mother Hubbard The cans are too old The bread's covered in maid The stove's full of oil The kettle won'tr boil All for food, food, food And I don't mean to be rude But I'm in this situation In this Canadian Nation There's bugs floating in my tea And I've got to go pee But the bathroom's broken And I'm watching TV All those chefs on the screen Make me want to scream Throw so much food in the trash Makes me want to act rash Go over there and eat it Then run and beat it Come back with a full belly And nothing smelly That's what I'd do To get food, food, food And I don't mean - to be rude.

Phoenix Winter

SINGLE MOTHERS' ALLIANCE BC

Are you a single mother? You are not alone.

The Single Mothers Alliance BC is a grassroots non-profit community building, leadership & advocacy toolkit organised by single mothers for single mothers in BC.

EATING AS EDUCATION I hope never to learn what politician I ate that night in Victoria BC kitchen!

Don't want to know what oilspilled bird I ate that day in olde Abbotsturd I hope never to learn what flesh I ate that eve in Marrakech Don't want to know what tax collector I ate after racetrack trivector!

Don't care to know what real estate man I munched with lunch in Amsterdam John alan douglas

Community

& Connections

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Network and 'connect with other single moms.

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Grow your circle of community support.

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Join in events, meet-ups, workshops, and more.

Leadership & Advocacy - Gain leadership skills in community organising, campaigning.

- Share your story and struggles: help shape campaigns.

- Advocate for change alongside other moms & women.

- Work collectively to end single mom and child poverty in BC. www.singlemothersbc.org

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Liu Yuan Quan, a volunteer for 6 years in the production crew for collating, stapling & folding 1200 copies of the Carnegie Newsletter twice a month, has died. She had been excited about returning to China for a couple of months to see family, and said she'd be leaving in late December. Just a few days before that time Liu Yuan was hit by a car in the neighbourhood and killed. Her English was very basic, often accompanied by a lot of body language, but she was brought to the Newsletter office by Katerina (Po Vi), a Chinese-speaking member of Carnegie's staff. The part of Liu's abilities that made my ears perk up was her having worked in a printshop in China for 30 years before emigrating to Canada with her husband. Her skills were immediately apparent: Liu Yuan could collate in a novel and extremely fast & efficient way, finishing over half of the whole while up to three others did the remaining half or less. She was quick to smile and equally quick to be serious about finishing it all in a professional way. Liu Yuan will be missed.

Miriam Stuart, a volunteer for over a dozen years collating, stapling & folding the Newsletter, died suddenly on Saturday just passed. "Born in Scotland, she moved to Canada in 1964. Miriam was a passionate community activist on Bowen Island and then Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. She loved gardening, cycling and music, singing in the Solidarity Notes Labour Choir and playing in a number of fiddle groups. Miriarn was always on adventures, always engaged and open to new ideas, always learning and transforming. She is survived by two children and countless friends - all who celebrate her joyous spirit and the love she generously shared." This last was an obituary appearing in The Province on Thursday, Feb 12. A celebration of her life was held on Saturday, Feb 14, at the Lore Krill Housing Co-op where Miriam ended her days.

Dear friends,

Humanities 101 Communities Programme & Carnegie Community Centre presents

Monthly Speaker Series Join us every fourth Wednesday of the month for stimulating presentations and discussions by guest speakers.

The talk for February will be:

This is what ME/WE WANT!!

How to Write a Manifesto with Hum's Academic Director & Longtime teacher Margot Leigh ButLer Wednesday, February 25th, 7 - 9 PM 3rd Floor Gallery Everyone is welcome!

In my stillness I was a bit calm and shaking the little part of me stuck out But I hadn't let it hang out It stuck to me that these fragments of me were going to give rebirth somehow but I couldn't tell her. Slow and steady I waited for parts of me to heal and grow up Was there an antidote I hoped I'm not at a loss maybe a little But I'd be OK playing the fiddle and reciting a riddle. I'm a little O.k. each day I say a little prayer. Oh how I wish to overcome all undone.

As many of you know, CCAP didn't receive a new grant from Vancouver Foundation for this year. Because our future is so uncertain - and with a pending layoff - I started looking casually (read: unenthusiastically!) for another job. Things happened rather quickly, and I'm going to be leaving CCAP at the end of this week to start a full-time job with a small organization that works on privacy, rights, the internet and freedom of information.

It goes without saying that my heart will always be with the anti-poverty movement and I still plan to stay very much involved. I've had the most wonderful experience at CCAP and have greatly enjoyed working with you all. I'm sure I'll continue to see many of you around ...if not in the CCAP office on a regular basis, then in evening organizing meetings & in the streets!

My departure will mean that King-mong will be able to have a few more months to continue his organizing in the Chinese community the DTES and to look for more funding. Please keep your eyes and ears open!

With a massive influx of condos coming into Chinatown and low-income seniors' housing in societyowned buildings at risk, King-mong's work is filling a massive organizing gap.

Jean, of course, will continue to work on housing & welfare, and we're all hoping to find a way to continue supporting ongoing organizing around the Aboriginal Healing and Wellness Centre. This will take meal tickets for volunteers, money for photocopies, an internet connection and bus tickets. I'm going to help CCAP crowd fund to at least continue as a volunteer collective if other funding proposals are unsuccessful. If you see some videos and campaigns come across your emails and newsfeeds, I hope you'll considersharing/passing on. As one of the last remaining volunteer-driven organizations in the DTES actively organizing against gentrification, it is my hope that this funding issue is a minor blip in CCAP's history.

That said, in a policy context where funding for progressive organizing is increasingly hard to come by, supporting movements that do require some finances to operate is a collective challenge.

Let's keep up the good fight!

- Tamara

Naomi Bergen

"down here"

ETHICALLY IDLE NO MORE According to Statistics Canada, Canada's Natural Resource Wealth, the dollar value of selected natural resource reserves, was $ 1.3 Trillion in 2007. It has increased 10 % per year, on average, during the preceding decade. Of these selected resources, energy is worth $606 billion, Timber $242 billion, and minerals $190 billion.

On November 24-25,2005, then Prime Minister Paul Martin, Provincial Premiers, and Aboriginal Leaders met in Kelowna to strike a deal that would improve the lives of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit people.

The Resultant Agreement - The Kelowna Accord- in effect promised $5 billion over 5 years to accomplish this.

However, with the fall of Martins Minority Liberal Government and the electing of Harper's Conservatives in to office- also as a minority- The First Harper budget of May 2006, reduced the yearly $1 billion earmarked for Aboriginals to $450 million per year.

Between April 2005 and November 20011- approximately 6 X years- the federal government provided the Attawapiskat $ 104 million for housing, infrastructure, education, and other services. And though Harper's government requested an audit of the Attawapiskat nations spending in December 2011- an audit which found that of 505 transactions reviewed more than 400 lacked proper documentationthe audit failed to mention the following: $1.3 trillion is equal to $1,300 billion or the value of Natural Resources in Canada- excluding Potable water, wild life, and wilderness.

The Kelowna Accord promised $ I billion per year for 5 years. To put this into some sort of perspective, if $ I billion is contrasted with $1.3 trillion, it represents 1 dollar in 1300 dollars. Nevertheless, Harper reduced th is to $450 million per year or .45 dollar -45 cents- in 1300 dollars The approximately $100 million provided to the Attawapiskat Nation over 6 or so years, represents I dollar in 13000 dollars - the analogous value of natural resources in Canada - Now not owned, operated and controlled by Aboriginals. What gIves Harper the moral high ground or right to think, say or do what he does?

Harry Schorneck

Dear neighbours and friends,

From 'the Library Gung Hay Fat Choy! With the Lunar New Year right around the corner we would like to celebrate Vancouver's Chinatown and its history. Ifwe're lucky we will be visited by a dancing Lion and disregard the "No noise" policy for a moment, as well as the "No food" policy just in case he wants to tackle the head of lettuce and shred it! This symbolizes a fresh start and the spreading of good luck.

Reflections on growing up in Chinatown is written about by Larry Wong in Dim Sum Stories (921 W8726a), and by Wayson Choy in his book Paper Shadows (823 C5523a). The authors are close friends, and it is explained that "Wong tickles your funny bone and moves you to tears," while Choy's book is set in prewar Chinatown where he discovers colourful secrets of his own life, and remembers visiting the Cantonese opera at the Sing Kew Theatre on Shanghai Alley with fondness. Wong Family Feast: Our Recipes and Stories by Joanna Claire Wong (929.2 W87w) is also a memoir, but uniquely focused around the making and sharing of food.

For further history, take a look at: Saltwater City: An Illustrated History of the Chinese in Vancouver by Paul Yee (971.1004 Y42s 1) Vancouver's Chinatown: Racial Discourse in Canada

by Kay Anderson (971.1004 A54v) And for those who prefer film, we can request: Chinatown New Year.'s Parade 1964 (DVD - Special Collections - 394.261 B47c) Tailor Made: Chinatown's Last Tailors (DVD971.133 W872L) Wishing you a new year of good luck!

Your librarian, Natalie

I'm excited to let you know that Vancouver Public Library, the City of Vancouver, and YWCA Metro Vancouver broke ground on Monday, January 19 for our new branch library on East Hastings.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, VPL board chair Mary Lynn Baum, and YWCA CEO Janet Austin were part of a moving Coast Sal ish brushing-off ceremony celebrating the latest milestone for VPL's n;}ca7mat et Strathcona branch and YWCA Cause We Care House.

Construction is now underway, and the new branch is scheduled to open in spring 2016. And please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about the new branch.

Beth Davies Manager I Neighbourhood Services . Vancouver Public Library direct: 604-331-3791 cell: 604-365-7643 email: beth.davies@vpl.ca

chindi nation resumes mending, darning, making group what: sewing group meeting to mend, darn, make when:, february

12, 19,26

(thurs)

2:30 to 5:30

where: 3rd floor, carnegie community

centre

why: an opportunity for people to join others likeminded, to work on self-motivated

fabric projects

sewing threads, needles, scissors provided some fabric remnants available no sewing machines (sorry) info: karenza@chindi-nation.net

or 604 708 6304

CRU

HA vs:

CH~d.tes You EVeR. FALI.EII 'THAOVGH TH£' CR4ck S.•. ~

-NBiLl-y·l

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THE. ABSTRACT TRUTH Like an imperialist living in a metric world Saint Minus watches social networks destroy lives and bring deaths to teenage boys & girls .. sickening is definitely the word of the day, playing on screens instead of fields they get so wrapped up in their fabricated world they don't even know work from play, unless work means working the streets people pay bad money to

see others being beat pain & suffering is a business all unto its own, like thugs going out on strike not another face will be shattered until there is a pay-hike! soon every kid that hits their teens will have no choice but to leave their homes, The Truth is cruel unfortunately for us all right up until you die and even after their friends & families take harsh financial and emotional falls sometimes I think I have it easy living alone The next generation is plugged in & ready to go they don't have time to waste on those of us who day by year become so old This is their world now you can have it cuz I have had it up to here with rich selfish "this is MY domain" kind of people you truly deserve what you get, When all your screens stop dead bcause that last payment didn't make it on time your only answer will be to commit extortion-like crimes all of us with dementia or alzheimers will have remembered to forget. .. like being an American policy maker vacationing in the Middle East soon your headless body will be on a stake on a videotape for all back home to see getting older has its perks like not having to continuously watch those evil acts (liberties will always be taken) It's those damn truths that'll come back to haunt you and no I am not mistaken and that is the reality of the abstract.

By ROBERT McGILLlVRA Y "Man is still the most extraord inary computer of all."

-John F. Kennedy P.S.: A belated goodbye to Brian Wimpy Ray Gogle who sang for my favourite Vancouver punk band The Subhumans. He was I believe involved with the Portland Hotel Society for the homeless in the Downtown Eastside. We do care what you say: Fuck You!!!

The New 10 Commandments 1. Obey no orders except those from within.

2. The only God is life itself.

3. Truth is within, do not look for it elsewhere.

4. Love is prayer.

5. Emptiness is the door to truth, it is the means, the end and the achievement.

6. Life is here and now.

7. Live fully awake.

8. Do not swim, float.

9. Die each moment so that you are renewed each moment.

10. Stop seeking. That which is, is: stop and see.

Videha

Spring Flamenco Series at the Carnegie Join us for our spring series of flamenco workshops, where you will be immersed in the music, rhythm, and dance of southern Spain. From the gypsy camps and Moorish medinas, flamenco embodies the pride, passion, suffering, and joy of the people. Learn dance technique, rhythmic hand clapping or palmas, and how to listen and respond to the music. No dance experience necessary; open to everyone. Ole! Instructor:

Kelty McKerracher

Saturdays February 28 - April 18 Carnegie Theatre

2pm - 3pm Introduction Level: Sevillanas 1st copla 3pm - 4pm Beginner Level: Sevillanas 4th copla 4pm - 5pm Intermediate Level: Bulerias por Fiesta

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NEIGHBOURHOOD SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM 2015 The 2015 NSG program launch & online application opens February 23rd• Deadline for submissions is March 31 st, 2015. http://neighbourhoodsmallgrants.ca/grantlneighbourhoo d-small-grants (Hard copies of applicatiol]s available at Ray-Cam, Strathcona, Camegie & Britannia Community Centres) RESIDENT ADVISQRY COMMITTEE If you're interested in being on this committee, email LinseaO·Shea-linsea.nsgp@gmail.com.

Orientation will take place at Strathcona Community Centre on Saturday March r, time to be determined, and you will need to attend 4-6 meetings (depending on the number ofapps) between April 1 & June 30.

Come and sing with the

CARNEGIE CHOIR! Saturdays 6:30 - 9:30 PM Sundays 2:30 - 5:30 PM Jan. 17,to May 17, 2014

Classroom 2 (3rd Floor)

EVERYONE WELCOME!

The Washington Post's Mensa Invitational once again invited readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one or two letters, and supply a new definition. Here are the winners: 1. Cashtration (n.): The act of buying a house, making the subject financially impotent for an indefinite period.

2. Ignoranus: A person who's both stupid and an asshole.

3.Intaxicaton: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.

4. Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.

5. Bozone (n.): The substance surrounding stupid people that stops bright ideas from penetrating. The bozone layer, unfortunately, shows little sign of breaking down in the near future.

6. Foreploy: Any misrepresentation about yourself for the purpose of getting laid 7. Giraffiti: Vandalism spray-painted very, very high.

8. Sarchasm: The gulf between the author of sarcastic wit and the person who doesn't get it.

9. Inoculatte: To take coffee intravenously when you are running late.

10. Osteopornosis: A degenerate disease.

11. Karmageddon: It's like, when everybody is sending off all these really bad vibes, right? And then, like, the Earth explodes and it's like, a serious bummer.

12. Decafalon (n): The grueling event of getting through the day consuming only things that are good for you.

13. Glibido: All talk and no action.

14. Dopeler Effect: The tendency of stupid ideas to seem smarter when they come at you rapidly.

15. Arachnoleptic: (n.): The frantic dance performed just after you've accidentally walked through a spider web.

16. Beelzebug (n.): Satan in the form of a mosquito, that gets into your bedroom at 3am and cannot be cast out.

17. Caterpallor (n.): The color you turn after finding half a worm in the fruit you're eating.

The Washington Post has also published the winning submissions to its yearly contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternate meanings for common words. And the winners are: 1. Coffee, n. The person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted, adj. Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained.

3. Abdicate, v ;[0 give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade, v. To attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. Willy-nilly, adj. Impotent.

6. Negligent, adj. Absent-mindedly answering the door when wearing only a nightgown.

7. Lymph, v. To walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, n. Olive-flavored mouthwash.

9. Flatulence, n. Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash, n. A rapidly receding hairline.

11. Testicle, n. A humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude, n. The formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, n. A Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster, n. A person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism, n. The belief that, after death, the soul flies up onto the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent, n. An ~pening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

"

Silver Fox

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We acknowledge that Carnegie Community Centre, and ;,: this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory. 'j;

"-:-,::;,~~~;~::,~::~-\: :':::':'-;:'::;' .:-:-:::;,-:; :-~~'::::~'::. :';-::'r.:::".-::>'.-;::;~::";':;,.;~:;C-~-?:;~-;:::::';''':;;'~;;~;'~~'

THIS NEWSLETTER IS A PUBLICATION OF THE CARNEGIE COMMUNITY CENTRE ASSOCIATION Articles represent the views of individual contributors and not ofthe Association.

WANTED Artwork for the Carnegie Newsletter • • • • • • • • • •

Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry.

Cover art - Max size: 17cm(6 Y.')wide x 15cm(6')high.

Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the Downtown Eastside, but all work considered.

Black & White printing only.

Size restrictions apply (Le. if your piece is too large, . it will be reduced and/or cropped to fit).

All artists will receive credit for their work.

Originals will be returned to the artist after being copied for publication.

Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer Tickets Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor.

The editor can edit for clarity, format & brevity, but not at the expense of the writer's message.

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

T•. RS~AY, FEBRUARY 26TH Next issue: SUBMISSION DEADLINE

Cover art by Bill pope

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MLA Working for You ,1070 - 1641 Commercial Dr, V5L 3Y3 Phone: 604-775-0790

IIIiteratty - Feb 26, 7:30 @ Heartwood Cafe WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION •

COMPUTER ADVICE Vancouver Community Network Cost-effectlve computer & IT support for non-profits VCN Tech Team http://techteam.vcn.bc.ca Call 778-724-0826 ext2. 705-333 Terminal Ave, Van

(Publication is possible only with now·necessary donations.)

DONATIONS 2015 Terry & Savannah -$150 Michele C.-$100 Leslie S.-$100 Bob & Muggs -$100 Lisa -$50 Catherine C.-$100 Glenn B.-$200 Sheila B.$50 Vancouver Moving Theatre -$200 Pat 0.$50 Harold & Sharron 0.-$100 Michael C.-$100 Eleanor B.-$50 Elaine & David -$j0 Margar~t M.-$50 Ruth McG -$50' Jenny K -$100 Jacqueline L -$75 Or Kevin -$50 Robert McG.-$65 Anonymous $110 J

5k0>.1c:.-bOOo-r~ef7 ~

-!50

.• • • • •

AIDS ROVERTY HOMELESSNESS VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN TOTALITARIAN CAPITALISM IGNORANCE and SUSTAINED FEAR

~

CO-OP RADIO 10a.Sfr.t

Vancouver's non-commercial, listener supported community station.

Dirty, Damaged, Different

A Day in the Life

My father and mother became parents burdened with pain, loss, bitterness.

To their graves they took their secrets.

During life they'd each likely felt dirty, damaged, different.

Chosen not Frozen A day like any day Here at the Ovaltine A Legend from the good old days of Skid Rowe Neon Lights Booze all day Sunday

Without intention they'd passed on their poisonous legacies by what is clearly defined abuse.

I was not exempt from feeling dirty, damaged, different.

Contemplating existence: licking my wounds Here in the "promised land" The weather Up and Down Hot and dry cold and damp A Scotch mist or foggy foggy dew

Throughout the years I've expressed sincere sorrow upon those whom I'd inflicted pain as a result of my feeling dirty, damaged, different.

West wind blows away the smog Manmade Rain washes the greener than green grasses On its way to brown

As I focus on compassion and forgiveness from others, I feel the guilt and shame lift.

I feel less and less dirty, damaged, different.

Plants growing like hops Our discomfort none of their own As I enter the Gate I observe their progress upward Seeking the source of their existence*//// Blossoms wither and die in this time exposure shot Season turns, turns back Green world more resilient than our mood Homeless, gormless, houseless Sleepless is the Order of the Day Brother can you spare a twoonie, a ciarette, a glass of biere However they are teehno-rich, laptops, memory sticks and lapdogs abound Eyes down, texting , twittering, chirping their signals in the vast concrete jungles In the beginning was the Mouth Word actually a later evolvement Nothing preserved.

Wilhelmina

Miles

Ekam Sad viprah bahudha vadanti Truth is one, but wise people express it in many ways.

;

Nowadays, I am rrmre at peace.

I envision some day feeling more clean, whole, in sync.

Over time I feel less dirty, damaged, different.

Š J.Angharad Giles "The momentum or attraction of the psychic realm is much more powerful than that of the physical world, and the momentum or attraction of the spiritual world is still more powerful. When . people hesitate and doubt whether they can accomplish something, and if they start to work in that hesitant frame of mind, they can never accomplish that task. But if they plunge into action thinking of their goal with courage, imbued with spiritual inspiration, they are sure to be crowned with success. No action is greater than the human capacity to perform it. Of all the manifold entities in this expressed world, human beings are the most powerful."

"THEIR SPIRITS LIVE WITHIN US"

25th ANNUAL WOMEN'S MEMORIAL .MARCH ..-:. ,~

Memory holds on strong to what has & is happening. That's what memory's for. People come together to grieve the loss of our beloved sisters, mothers, daughters, aunties, nieces, cousins, grandmothers, granddaughters and . friends in the Downtown Eastside and, by extension, all across Canada; to dedicate ourselves to justice. This' event is organised & led by women because women, especially Indigenous women, face physical, mental, emotional & spiritual violence on a daily basis. Never to forgive. Never to forget. All our relations.

CARNEGI

yo brother hello sister once lost children fmding a new way toward kindness in a cruel world helping one another makes the path a bit smoother I'll listen to you and you to me We'll lead each other to new ways to see In listening we grow Bits of hope we sow that fill the days with new possibilities

EASTSIDE

We are the damaged damned by cold worlds never had. a chance right from the beginning tossed aside like so much trash jailed for having no cash Yet here we are fine day by day one day at a time rising to new beginnings as we challenge the damage healing one another

Serena lee

Gilles Cyrenne