November 15, 2011, carnegie newsletter

NOVEMBER 15, 2011

401 Ma in Str eet, Vancouver

V6A 2T7

carnnews@shaw. ca carnnews@vcn.b c . c a w w w . car nne w s. or g

604.665.2289

Kakistocracy [ka ke staw kra see] n.

government by the worst people

From the Greek: kakisto, meaning ' bad ' & ocracy, meaning ·~og~vern'

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EDITORIAL From 50%- 75% of registered voters on the West Side cast ballots. It's usually only about 12% on the East Side Clearly labelled as an ' opinion piece' (like a lot of stuff that graces the pages of this "#$%"& rag"). The 51 cover art of the Nove mber I edition made a few of our readers wince -fair enough. Enough res idents of the neighbourhood have read/heard/been told pointblank that th ey are ' diseased scum with blood dripping from their teeth, infecting innocent children and - wors t - bringing property values down.'

We generally don't react in kind, except to notice the racist, bigoted, narrow-minded discrimination by ' those people' who are condescending and patronise most of us and most of our community. Seeing that particular work of art (that pesky cover again) made me leap to the conclusion that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and s lap it down face up! " ... and there will be OFFICIAL COMPLAINTS ... " Back to the election on the 19'". The VOTE Quotes bit is to enco urage a whole w hack of Eastsiders to go to the polls and vote. A few years ago there was a referendum on changing the system from At-Large, like it is now, to a Ward System where people from different parts of the city make up Council. As it is now the people on the West s ide and those with a lot of wealth get pretty much who they want every time.

In fact it's only bee n si nce Philip Owen got turfed by his own party for going soft on drugs and social housing that the NPA (Non Partisan Association) is not the majority on Council. This is the go-for-broke maximum developme nt and fuck the poor Party, and Susan A nton is trying to get them back in power.

Her campaign slogan is " Common Sense" and is a match to the Common Sense crap that William Harris ran on to become Premier of Ontario a few years ago.

To him/ her and their ilk cutting welfare by 22%, clos ing shelters, bulldozing any kind of tent city set up on garbage land by poor people and making anyone not looking worth something($$) to keep moving!!

With Anton and the NPA condos and "mixed housing" means to proceed with Vis io n's status quo of (in reality) I I condos fo r every I social housing unit.

At the Candidates Meeting here, organised by Sam S nobelen (good job), moderated by Pat McSherry

(great job) and sound by Egor Marov (yeah!), it was pretty clear who was on our s ide of the fe nce: COPE's people- Ellen Woodsworth and David Cadman - have an impeccable record in voting against the many breaks & perks awarded by the Vision majority to developers (no taxes for I 0 years, more density for condos (300 upped to 800 on one)).

COPE has adopted the Carnegie Community Action Project's reasoning on housing development, especially for the Downtown Eastside, as policy!

Tim Louis, formerly a councillor and running again on the 19'", said, "Civil disobedience is necessary to make governments wake up to the realities of being poor and poorly housed in Vancouver." It is amazing to hear a politician s peak the plain truth!

It's pretty obvious: As Editor, my opinion is that voting and voting for COPE and for Andrea Rhymer is the minimum any of us can do.

PA ULR TAYLOR

Exhibit November 2 - 30, 2011 3rd Floor Art Gallery Carnegie Centre If one of the portraits if of you, you can claim it after November 30th. Please leave your name at the 3 rd floo r Program Office. , Please encourage others, whose portraits you tecognize, to view the exhibit and claim their portra its.

~~~~~~~~~~-----------3 What's the Hope in Shadows calendar?

It features p hotographs of the community t aken during che Downtown Eastside photography contest last June.

SELL THE CALENDAR! Are you interested in ea rning money selling the 2012 Hope in Shadows calendar? This opportunity is open to everyon e.

No experience necessary!

Next Free Calendar Sales Training Sessions Tuesday, Nov 1, 3:30p.m. Gathering Place, 609 Helmcken St. Thursday, Nov 3, 1:30 p.m. Bosman Hotel (Bosman res<teniS have P""'"YI

Come to a straight-forwa rd training session and get sa les tips from an exp erienced Hope in Shadows seller. You' ll receive a license t o sell th e calendar on the streets of Vancouver an d one f ree $20 calendar to start you off.

Tuesday, Nov 8, 1 p.m. LifeSkills, 412 East Cordova

With your lice nse you will be able to purchase calendars for $10 and se ll them for $20.

HOPE IN SHADOWS

For more information call 604-255-9701

Portraits of our Com munity

Monday, Nov 14, 1 p.m. LifeSkills, 412 East Cordova Tuesday, Nov 22, 1 p.m. LifeSkills, 412 East Cordova Monday, Nov 28, 1 p.m. LifeSkills, 412 East Cordova

ro~t6's CNss [based on Eric Mollica's cover] Danica clutches the s ilver cross in one hand , close to her bosom. She hears the cackling behind her and takes great gasping breaths. Trying to get back her wind, she stands still as night in a patch of fog mist.

A half-hidden moon silvers her hair, slick with frost.

Advertising Rates (Prices are p er issue

Business Card:

She has .beeri out too long and it is the witching hour.

Two bats, lifemates, start wheeling around her head, flapping their wings g rotesquely in the dance only b~ts can do. Their4 hi gh-pitched cries squeak in her ears, frightening and enticing. The silver cross starts digging into her palm .. she is holding on so tight. lt is cold as ice where it burns into her skin, and she prays it will keep her safe.

Phoenix

Carnegie6 NEWSLETTER

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Housing Is a Right, Not a Commodity Occupy Vancouver Housing Rally Unceded Coast Salish Territory, -The official decision-making body of Occupy Vancouver, the General Assem bly, approved a march to focus public attention on the need for affordable housing in Vancouver. The march happened Saturday November 121h raised awareness around five housing objectives, including steps to achieve them: • End Real Estate Speculation • Tax on empty units and undeveloped lots • Progressive tax on mu ltiple properties • Progressive property tax • Progressive property transfer tax • All new revenues into affordable housing fund End Corruption in civic politics • Immediate and full disclosure of all developer & corporate contributions to all civic election campaigns • Abolition of developer and corporate contributions to civic campaigns • Genuine consultation with affected communities on all new developments & land use decisions Aboriginal Land, Abo r iginal J ustice • Inclusion of First Nations in land-use decis ions • Funding for First Nations housing Stop Evictio ns a n d Gentrificatio n • The Right to Sleep - no forced removal of homeless persons from public land • Moratorium on demolition of all affordable rental apartments • Strict upkeep of affordab le housing, no renovictions • Freeze rents- Current allowable increase of7% is far too high, above in nation.

• Any future increases tied to increases in welfare and minimum wage • Moratorium on condo development in low-income neighbourhoods, especially the Downtown Eastside Increase Supp ly of Truly Affordable Ho using • 10,000 units of affordable res ident-controlled pub lic housing per year unti l the housing crisis is over • In the meantime, year-round operation of all temporary and cold-weather shelters

Hello All, If you would like to apply for any of the Humanities I 0 I Writing course, or you know of anybody who is interested, please come to one o(the following intake sessions: Carnegie Centre, Main & Hastings Tuesday November IS @ 11.30a.m Downtown Eastside Women's Centre, 302 Columbia St Wed nesday November 16 @ I I a.m Crabtree Corner , 533 East I lastings St Thursday November 17 @ 2p.m Va nco uver Recovery Clu b, 2775 Sophia St Friday November 18@ I la.m T h e Ga th erin g P lace, 609 Helmcken St Monday November 21 @ 11 a.m To apply for Writing you must attend the intake session and complete an application. Writing is a

three-month course that starts on January 3rd and runs every Tuesday night from 7-9.30p.m. All classes take place at UBC West Point Grey campus.

Hum a nities 101 Community Programme Dr. Margot Leigh Butler, Academic Director Paul Woodhouse, Programme Coordinator Alison Rajah, Programme A ssistant Greg Scutt, Public Programmes Assistant Kelsey Croft, Progra mme Assistant Wil Steele, Programme Assistant tel. 604-822-0028 fax. 604-822-6096 Programme Office: #270 Buchanan E, 1866 Main Mall University of British Columbia Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T IZI Website: http://humanitiesJOJ .arts.ub.cal

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WHY OUR OWN CULTURE? POOR PEOPLE ARE LITERALLY LEFT OUT OF CULTURAL EVENTS. \-.'E CAN'T AFFORD THE TICKET PRICES. EVERYTHING FROM THE OPERA TO ROCK CONCERTS COSTS A LOT OF MONEY. \.JE HAVE TO ASK: \ffiO IS THIS 'CULTURE' BENEFITTING? NOT US. SOMEBODY l'IAKES A LOT OF PROFIT ON THIS STUFF. IF THIS IS MY CULTURE, HOH COME I'M EXCLUDED FROM IT? OUT OF NECESSITY WE 'MAKE' OUR OWN CULTURE. WE LEARN HO\v TO SE\v CLOTHES FOR THE KIDS. WE LEARN HOW TO QUILT TO KEEP \\TARN. WE IMPROVISE CREATIVELY AND JUGGLE OUR SCANT RESOURCES. \-.'E USE ODDS 'N SODS TO DECORATE OUR LIVING SPACES. \.JE WRITE DOWN OUR THOUGHTS. WE TEACH OURSELVES Hmv TO PLAY MUSIC .

IN OTHER WORDS, WE SURROUND OURSELVES WITH CULTURE OF OUR mVN MAKING • YET IT NEVER GETS RECOGNISED AS ' CULTURE'. WHY? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HANG IN ART GALLERIES OR BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY A LOT OF MONEY TO SEE IT • MOST OF THE WORKS IN THE FIGHTING POVERTY CULTURAL DISPLAY & EVENING ARE FRON PEOPLE WHO HAVE NEVER OR RARELY SHARED THEIR WORK PUBLICLY BEFORE. THIS IS THE FIRST PUBLIC CULTURAL DISPLAY MADE FOR AND BY PEOPLE WHO ARE LOW INCOME THAT \\IE KNmv OF.

e A LOT OF PEOPLE SAY "OH, MY STUFF'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR DISPLAY OR STAGE." .. THAT COMES FROM OUR FEELING LEFT OUT OF CULTURE. NEXT TI~ffi, MAYBE YOU'LL e BRING SOMETHING AND THE EVENT WILL GET BIGGER • •

CULTURE FROM A SHARED BASIS BUILDS UNITY & IMPETUS TO STRUGGLE ON . GOVERNMENTS TAKE CULTURE SERIOUSLY. IN SOME COUNTRIES THEY JAIL POETS, FOR EXAMPLE •

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IT'S TIME \.JE TOOK OURSELVES SERIOUSLY.

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SEWING & POETRY & MUSIC & THEATRE & SCULPTURE & STUFF IS FUN TOO!

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Clearcut from Squamish to Prince George Clearcut from Nanaimo to Bella Bella Clearcut solution The Final Solution It's Clear Cut Clearcut: Clear out of British Columbia

When i see our Earth all battered & bruised & ruptured & scraped & torched & raped i see that She is in pain after all pj flaming

Poor-Bashing:: The Politics of Exclusion

by Jean Swanson, Toronto: Between the Lines, 2001 From the Greek philosopher Aristotle, through the Roman poet Horace, and up to our own time there is school of thought in western art history that believes truly good art 'holds the mirror up to Nature." Good art shows us human beings as we really are. It shows the sacred in us, and it shows the sleaze. It shows the immensely complex relationship between them.

Inevitably, sleaze justifies itself publicly by strutting around the stage of life in noble disguises. H' s left to the audience to figure out what's really what and and name them for what they are. who's

And we to true to our own experience to do that. That school of thought is called Realism.

Jean Swanson has put herself smack dab in the middle of that tradition - only her stage is not the theatre but the politics of poverty in Canada. PoorBashing , the author tells us, is a book " about the war of exclusion, prejudice, and hate against the poor in Canada.'路 (p.3).

But why call it '"war'"? Why call our (my!) response to Canadians on welfare "poor-bashing," l asked shrillly, defensively as [got into this book That language is so inciting! Swanson explains "Poor-bashing is when people who are poor are humiliated, stereotyped,. discriminated against, shunned, despised, pitied, patronized, ignored, blamed and falsely accused of being lazy, drunk, stupid, uneducated, having large families and not looking for work" (p.2) This, she says, is not only how they feel. It is how they are treated. We, who are comfortable, just don' t see it.

Jean Swanson gives us an immense amount of information about poverty a Canada - it is almost overwhelming. If that's all there were here it would be like other books and dusty official reports. But Swanson gives us much more than that. She gives us real people, the ones who are living without the

mone~路 to care for their children or themselves. And she gtves them to us in their own voice. They speak for themselves . In Poor-Bashing I met Dennis and Bev. I met Rose Brown and Linda Moreau and other ~ople on welfare speaking in their own voice. Tellmg of their own experience in government offices and foo~ banks. Sharing the feeling of diminishment created m them by not being what society values mon~ ~d th~ confidence it brings. Their analysis of therr sttuanon is amazing. Their view of the causes of it is much truer to life than what we get from officialdom and the corporate-sponsored thinktanks.

But this book doesn "t just offer personal stories powert:ui as they are. Swanson analyzes the ' dynarrucs of poverty in Canada. She helps us understand w~y people are made poor and kept poor -by the dectstons of those who profit from poverty.

Swanso~ makes the case that poverty is created by l~ws destgned to "pnnish" the poor and by corporations that make economic decisions totally detached from concern for people or for our society. This ". us~" of people as fodder for the gains of the elite is JUshfied and encouraged by the Fraser Institute and ~e media. Once the poor are made 路'the enemy" this vte~v finds sup~rt among large numbers of very ordmary and smcere people feeling insecure in a "competitive" world. We cooperate with the view tha~ the poor deserve what the~ get (or. rather, don' t get.) because they are responstble for not helping themselves.

Jean Swanson gives us a provocative view of the history of how we are trained to see poverty in and under capitalist economics. In the Middle Ages, she notes, the poor were seen as the ones especially loved by God. Therefore, they had dignity and they were vvorthy of help. A person would be accountable to God and to the commnnity for how he/she responded-with compassion or rejection- to the needs of the poor.

"Poor-bashing, ,. Swanson proposes, arose onlv with industrial capitalism, the rise ofindividuafism, and the view of work as moral and unemployment as immoral fostered as a spin-offof Protestantism. She traces the ~istory of the demonization of the poor by the mdustnalists and governments in Britain in the late 1700s and throughout the 1800s. The 1990s represented a severe return to a harsher form of

Problem Children Never Forget ..

CHINESE PROVERB - If we do not change our direction we are likely to end up where we are headed. [online awards to Citizens ofBC- The Tyee] Jean Swanson is coordinator of the Camegie Community Action Project in Vancouver, an organization dedicated to the welfare of the Downtown Eastside, one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods, and has been an anti-poverty activist for more than 30 years.

Swanson is a strong proponent of the idea that poverty is neither a choice nor a failure of the individual but more so a failure of a political and economic system. And she's found innovative ways to bring the issue to the rorefront of the political agenda.

In the lead up to the Olympic Games, she appealed to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, to intervene on behalf of the Downtown Eastside "with the Vancouver municipal government, the government of British Columbia, and the government of Canada, to urge them to end homelessness and improve housing conditions in our neighbourhood, the city, province and country."

"Jean has also a lways made a point of working collaboratively with low-income people in order to ensure they are as involved as poss ible in issues that effect them ... She endeavors always to ensure that poor people have a voice in the public policy issues that directly impact their lives ... She is wide ly respected. Jean Swanson is principled, tremendously hard working and very inspiring."

7

late night radio talkin' KGO San Francisco San Jose Oakland it's a different world late at night the ionosphere drags in the s ignal 1 get the news nobody knows (or wants to) how in the3 City of Love 3 children this month wounded at errant bullets sprayed at them driveby gets a 3 year-old, 4 yr-old and last night an II yr-old girl wounded playing outside her home a separate report how Pedigrew got shot the president of San Jose chapter of Hell's Angels at his funeral some angel from Santa Cruz took out one of th' San Jose crew .. so to keep peace the 2"d Angel's funeral in a fortnight was private not to mention the Angel got dragged a mile under the wheels of a terrified motorist in a van closed the freeway for the. rest of the night last nite they play a taped 15 year-old cerebral palsy patient being whipped with a belt by her sadist Dad a Family Court judge no less - l couldn't bear to hear her screams; remember being whipped to the point the legs shook n the piss flowed uncontrollable another sadist the same tired excuses crashed me back to being held down and screamed at till the staff broke us down left us quivering snivelling broken children all under the guise of 'spare the rod spoil the child' the rationale of whipping Christian sadists who got off on the screams of defenceless children ... turning off the radio 'cause it all came back the abuse they called "caring" and "concern" oh ya " this will hurt me more than you" only you end up with black welts from your knees to your neck swollen and sore so bad you couldn't sit for a week and this the good w hite Christian folks was the way to keep us on the path of Jesus last night I listen to the lunacy the madness that the Great Satan perpetuates every day murder in the name of God killing children beat children to show Jesus' love, some compassion and we wonder when they scramble to get away from the abusers, the nuns, the therapeutic staff wrkr remember O livia who drowned in 3 inches of water epileptic fit. but we all knew A lex the house head had raped and murdered her - but who listens to kids AI

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A book of great interest was launched and celebrated on Nov. 10 at Gallery Gachet, 88 E Cordova Street.

Tranquil Prisons: Chemical Incarceration under Community Treatment Orders By Erick Fabris

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fessional accountability and more therapy choices for patients, Fabris' narrative is both accessible and eyeopening.' - Erica Burman, Research Institute of Health and Social Change, Manchester Metropolitan University

Lecturer, School of Disability Studies, Ryerson University In this unique academic study of psychiatric treatment, Erick Fabris, himself a former psychiatric patient, discusses the use of chemical agents for treatment despite the availability of suitable alternatives.

Calling for g reater professional and public accountability and more therapeutic choices for patients, "Tranquil Prisons is a bold, in-depth examination of a largely neglected but important social issue.

VANCOUVER OPERA

Romeo et Juliette Charles Gounod

French Opera at its best.

- University ofToronto Press 'A brave and innovative book, Tranquil Prisons is a

The first 75 people will receive free tickets to the final Dress Rehearsel of the opera.

rare academic study of psychiatric treatment written by a former mental patient. Erick Fabris' original, multidisciplinary research demonstrates how clients a re pre-emptively put on chemical agents despite the possibility of alternatives. Putting forth calls for pro-

Wednesday, November 23, 7pm Carnegie Centre Theatre

Workshop on

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3rd floo_r gallery Carneg1e C entre

Sunday.

November 20 11 am- 2 pm

Please .join us to measure -vour blood pressme and learn more abour heart health Canadians would be shocKed to know that funds set aside to green our economy are, in fact, being used to subsidize power to a mine that, in its very concepttion, is certain to destroy an iconic mountain Todagin Mountain is today the mounta in that nobody knows. A wildlife sanctuary in the sky, it is an upland plateau that soars above the nine pristine headwater lakes of the Iskut River, the main tributary of the Srikine. Home to the largest population of Stone Sheep in the world, with enormo us populations of wolves and grizzlies, it is w ildlife habitat so ri ch that government long ago severely restricted hunting; only bows areallowed. Were Todagin to exist in any other place it wo uld have long ago bee n protected as nation a l park or world heritage prese rve. Instead, the governme nt has authorised Imperial Metals, the 75'" largest mining company in Canada- a small company, a handful of men, essentially - to construct an open pit copper and gold mine, process ing some 30,000 tons of rock a day for thirty years. The mine will inundate Black Lake with 183 million tons of tox ic tailings and generate 307 million tons of waste rock. There are 4,000 copper mines in the world. To place one on Todagin Mountain, given its location and the extraordinary economic significance and beauty of the headwater lake di strict that it anchors, is like drilling for oil in the Sistine Chapel.

The Red Chris is but one of the many industrial proposals threatening the Sacred Headwaters. Shell Canada seeks to extract coal bed methane from a tenure of close to a million acres, a project that could imply the construction of as many as 6,500 wells with roads and pipe-

lines creating an industrial matrix over the entire headwater valley. .

None of these developments can proceed without ~ power. And the government has asked the people of Canada to absorb the $404 million cost of building a 287-kilovolt transmission line to nowhere- for its terminus, Bob Quinn Lake, is today nothing but a highway yard. Imperial will construct its own small line 70 miles south to tap into the provincial grid. The government will speak of expanding provincial infrastructure, Imperial of its private investment. There will be no talk of subsidies, even as Imperia l beg ins construction of a mine that will benefit few and compromise the lives of so many. What is perhaps most scandalous is the fact that $ 130 million of the costs of expand ing the power grid is coming from our national Green Infrastructure Fund.

[Excerpted from Wade Davis's article in the November 20 II ed ition of Common Ground.]

The Spinal Column G rowing fro m a dot of fl esh You need a microscope to see it You look into the microscope & what do you see? ... it looks like an eye looking back at you What's going on in that miraculous eye-cell world (we live in) Well of cou rse it's building the spinal column -so we can exist on it ... or in it ... or coming out of it We are bu il t o n the s pinal col umn that arises out of this tiny fleshy micro-scopic pot of substance where God is life rising like us when the body is rising & falling getting born, being human & then disappearing into thin ai r Maybe if everybodies human face was imposed on everygody else's human face li ving on this planet You might have the first portrait photograph in the direction of God's Face beyond space.

God might say '路good try- not bad .. but a little too photographic to he real"

TORA

Public Forum

WARNING!!

CHARITY or JUSTICE? Monday, Nov.28, 7:00-9:00 pm Grandview Calvary Baptist Church 1803 East 1st Ave, Vancouver

AVOID BLACK TAR HEROIN A few black tar users in Washington got Severe paralysis from the botulism germ toxin in skin infections.

We are approaching the winter holiday season, and w ith it. the ubiquito us appeals for chari table donati ons. The CBC will be hosting its 25 th annua l Food Bank day this year a nd numerous other organizations will be soliciting gifts ofvarious kinds to be distributed to those in need. Yet after decades of these annual cyc les of charitable generosity, poverty is still alive and wel l within our communities.

So what would it mean to tackle the root causes of poverty rather than focus on its temporary a lleviation? What wou ld it take to establish justice rather than pro mote occasional acts of c harity? How might charity undermine justice rather than hasten its actua li zation?

These are the issues we want to explore at this evening forum.

SPECIAL GUESTS: • JEAN SWANSON (Raise the Rates Coalition) "Eliminating poverty requires policy changes rooted in justice, not charity" • SETH KLEIN (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) "Paying for a justice agenda requires fair tax reform"

THIS IS A DEADLY TOXIN *DON'T DO BLACK TAR NOW* IT MIGHT KILL YOU lnsite

Daily Dope Report Yo Bro' this is the news from the down and dirty ni tty g ritty s ide of the city down here we don't stop ti ll we drop the DTES the easts ide where you can't hide just who the star you are listen in to the CBC just now all the cu lture the gov't all ows a wine s how can you beat that down here we got different ideas about whe4re it's at a round here we should have daily dialogue o n dope what's up w h at's not exactly what you bought exactly what you got exhibited or not it' ll (so metimes) make you rot we need a d aily dope report about what's ok & what comes short w hat to shoot and what to snort Dig Me Shorty wild Dickie

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Hosted by Streams of Justice

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BEING HEARD

(A WORKSHOP ABOUT COMMUNICATION)

The intention of this workshop is to offer downtown eastside community members an opportunity, whether it is for personal communication or public speaking, to understand communication skills.

We will discuss personal communication, ways to im prove how you say what you saw as well as participation in practical exercises to experience speak - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - • ing in a differe nt way.

Hatha Yoga Will be moving from Oppenheimer Park to the Carnegie gym for the winter Thursdays @ llam

Workshop da tes are: November 14, 21, 28 10 a m- 12:30 pm, Carnegie Theatre Sign up for this workshop begins November 1, 2011 at the Program Offi ce o n the Jrd Floor of Carnegie.

The workshop will be led by Dalannah Gail Bowen and is limited to 15 people.

This feller ref ers to the case ofMarlene vs VancouJer Police. She alleges they pushed her away & over 11hen she was in Pigeon Park with friends.]

II

Dear Readers, 1 spoke to my new lawyer on Saturday. My case

'· Ya, I admit it I'm a crazy person if this world is sane then I'm au contrairc the war on Drugs cost more Mexican lives than the war in Iraq; Afghanistan's got the dope the army is guarding the poppy fields and the CIA's the biggest dope dealer globally not to mention the quacks and their killpills .. in the last decade prescription OD' s have tripled goes on and on everywhere you turn _ everywhere you look the same twisted picture so if those hookies represent reality then it's insanity for me ? ·. what's good is bad what' s up is down ,. you'll find out when you reach the top II'' you're on the bottom and I'm proud to be a crazy mutha fucka •.•~.' least wise when I wake up in the morn' '1 -~' ' I know who I am can you say the same?

Ed Amos -~~.,.

will be over by the end of the year. l want TV cameras in the coUJiroom to show everybody how diabolical the VPD real ly is. I'm lucky they didn't laser or shoot me.

To Serve and Protect.. they attacked me when I was in a wheelchair. They are a disgrace to police in general. I want both of them to lose their jobs. They got no compassion whatsoever.

Marlene Wuttunee

November the Second at the Church There is some light flickering in the corner Flashlight or crack pipe Suddenly T am awake sort of 1 will have a shower T say & I'm sitting patiently resolving most tempests Personality connictions afflictions The floor is wet from

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Asshole to breakfast time ~.\\ !~ Hot water and soap the only remedy ~~ 1 Now in the Valley ofDeath and shadows ~ I Nietsche Reinvented Supernatural? Abmormal Dysfunctional1 ~ yet I see some Miss him God is Dead Sparks from the fire A hollow of emptiness, a sham Kindnesses unexpected Miss Nobody A sham ami . caring for her sicker sister You came along, a joy, a yoy On the road from White Court Till you depart Alberta-bound Where is God? God is dead.

Looking for hope in Sodom & Gomorrah Where is Good, Nietsche? gone tomorrow Already history, already legend I am here : here I am I Our own minds mindless I sent my soul to heaven Our bodies less than / •o;) my afterlife to spell No temples for our familiars '"lo Bye and bye my soul returned ' "'~.

No fami liars only the stranger saying: all over again I myself and heaven and hell Our customs repulsive - our Way untenable The Bells of hell go ting-a-ling Hold tight Christians, Jews and Muslims for you and me The time cometh long foretolod.

James MacLean Wilhelmina Harriman

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News from the LibrarY New Books On the morning of August 5, 2010, thirty-three men gathered at the entrance to the San Jose copper mine outside Copiap6, Chile, for a twelve-hour shift. A few hours into their shift, a giant section of mine collapses, and thirty-three men scramble to the safety shelter- a 540-square foot room stocked with enough food and liquid to last a group often men forty-eight hours. 33 Men: Inside the Miraculous Survival and Dramatic Rescue of the Chilean Miners (622.8) is Jonathan Franklin's account of their story.

Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide (362.28) is a 1999 book by Kay Redfie ld Jamison, author of An Unquiet Mind. The author is not only a recogni zed authority on depressive illnesses and their treatment, but also writes from firsthand knowledge: at the age of twenty-eight, after years of struggling with manic depression, she attempted to kill herself. Night Falls Fast seeks to understand the suicidal mind, to better recognize the person at risk, and to comprehend the profound and disturbing sense of loss created in those left behind.

Tile Hollow Bone: A Field Guide to Shamanism, by Colleen Deatsman (201.44 D28h), is an introduction to the practitioners, rituals, beliefs, and tools of shamanism as it is practised around the world.

Switching to a Mac: Portable Genius by Paul McFedries is for all of you who've wondered how to move from Microsoft to Jobs without losing all your documents and e-mails.

Jesse (The Body) Ventura is no shrinking violet. In 63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You To Read (323 .44), he reveals U.S. documents about fake terrorist attacks, the military's experiments on its soldiers, and the CIA's guide to assassination.

Even though it's aimed squarely at U.S. readers, Ventura's shock-horror style makes it a lively and controversial read.

Beth, your librarian

Vancouver

votes

November 19, 2011 It's your chance to choose.

Vote: Election day is Saturday, November 19 What Election?

Saturday, November 19 is the City of Vancouver's General Local Election Who can vote? Canadian citizens aged 18 and over, who have been a resident of BC for at least 6 months and a resident of Vancouver for at least 30 days ' Who am I voting for? Voters choose: • 1 Mayor • 10 City Councillors • 7 Parks Commissioners • 9 School Trustees Voters also decide on the Capital Plan, which allows the City to borrow money for big projects like new buildings What am I voting for? The municipal (Vancouver) government is in charge of things like: • Police and fire services • Libraries, parks and community centres • Garbage and recycling • Water and sewer services • Some housi ng issues

Am I registered?

You can check to see if you're registered at vancouver.ca!vote. If you're registered, you should have received a voters' card in the mail.

You can also register when you vote: You can still vote on November 19 even if you're not registered.

You'll need to register at your designated voting place: bring two pieces ofiD if you can: one with your name and s ignature, and one with your name and address. If you don't have address 10, you can s ign a declaration or swear in front of an election

Defending the DTES by any Legal and Moral means Necessary -Part VIlli The community wants to concentrate on a similar upcoming action over the non-funding of the emergency HEAT shelters etc. So i wi ll not be doing the action at Crab park on November 16.

Nathan Edelson, the former senior city plan ner for Vancouver Downtown Eastside told me at a conference last Friday at UBC for Indigenous planning that he is for a 3 yr moratorium on all new condos in the DTES and is willing to talk to anybody about it.

I suggest, this option should be pursued vigorously-

official that you live in the polling district.

Accepta ble Identification Documents: BC CareCard or BC Gold CareCard BC Driver's Licence BC ID card (from the Motor Vehicle Branch) ( Birth Certificate · Canadian Passport ( Citizenship Card Credit card or debit card ICBC Owner's Certificate of Insurance & Vehicle Licence Income tax assessment Welfare Report/Request for Continued Assistance (HSD081) Native Status Card Nexus Border Card Property tax notice Social Insurance Number Transllnk Annual Pass (not monthly pass) Student Card Utility bill Vancouver Public Library Card *If you don't brin g 10 with your current address on it, you can swear a Declaration of Identity and Residence before the Returning Officer. *If you have no 10 you can get someone who knows you to swear a Statutory Declaration or swear an affidavit. You cannot have two declarations or affidavits as two pieces of 10 *Homeless people can vote giving a general place (corner of Main&Hastings) or shelter as an address.

Wher e and When

On November 19, polls are open from 8am to 8pm.

Where you vote depends on where you live. The Carnegie Centre is a polling station. To fi nd out where your closest poll is, talk to a librarian, look on the notice board in the library, or go to vancouver.ca/vote. Remember: bring your voting card or 10.

Want more information ? Talk to a librarian.

both now and in the Local Area Plan. As of now both Mayor Gregor Robertson and Susan Anton said they are not for a pause or moratorium in the DTES ...

There are a lot of homeless people, aboriginal and other committed peoples at the Occupy Vancouver encampment: we really should defend them as best we can. I place the blame on any chaos on Police Chief Jim Chu and Mayor Robertson for putting at risk Peace Officers and the Occupy Vancouver Movement Peoples: Just to falsely strengthen their case for a court injunction. It was a blatant provocation, knowing full well peoples will have to protect the Sacred Fire.

This is my last article. But I don't want anyone to think I have no sense of humour-so I'll end with thisThe barman said ·'I'm sorry, we don't serve fasterthan-light neutrinos in this bar:' A faster-than-light neutrino \.Valks into a bar.

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Whi le there's still daylight, time enough to say what I have to .. need to .. tell you all Sorry for all the shit I've done, sorry for what I neglected to do- either way, gotta say you get in a lot of trouble trying to do what's right .. the road to hell paved with good intentions and all I quit dope only to see the process do more damage than the stuff coulda .. come down trying to cope how the monster was let out, all the terrorizing and the garbage needed to get thru, work out, throw out the diseased parts of my battered psyche; the old me never thought I was doing wrong but all along I was causing more grief to everyone around me can't fix up what I fucked up, can't just say hey hey 'I'm sorry' but. .. but don't cut it, mister can't have it both ways sister there was a train for freedom but I missed her these days I'm really grateful 'cause l see what a headcase I've been, I see the sin I'm repentin' over; time enough to set it straight say it now 'fore it's all too late AI

The primary needs of all human beings are air, food, water, housing, love and self-appreciation. All of these are necessary for us to be able to challenge and resolve the difficulties we face during our lifetimes. Primary concerns are technology and lifestyle changes (positively or negatively) at any level of society. The drugs, violence and offences against others that I witnessed over so many years were, in most cases, only symptoms of a primary problem. They were the secondary results of not meeting one or more primary human needs. I call this the Humpty Dumpty consequence.

Societal adjustments that allow us to continue providing help to people in need have been disappearing with each passing decade. We are seeing the subtle demise of a system of values that provided a firm foundation for family life, caring and involvement in our society for hundreds of years.

I believe that education and intervention can work to reverse this trend if credible ideas come from aware, dedicated, onthe-spot professionals. Many people who ask for their help and advice are desperate and devastated and not punching a timeclock. You will find the knowledge at the grass roots level-listen and ask for direction toward resolution. Healing cannot start if our government, and society in general, lack or ignore the grass roots facts.

Listen with the goal of moving forward. Acknowledge, humbly, that ignorance is not bliss. The misery is visible and committed agencies and services are already there. We have all the evidence of need but scattered funding is a waste. We must have funding that ensures continuity of intervention to make a difference that will be reflected throughout modern society and positively motivated into honest and committed action.

Agencies must also work together to fill cracks and holes in coordinated services and intervention. Need continues after agency hours and is aggravated further when continuity of care is not followed up on weekends or stat holidays.

Trust and communication between agencies and compromised citizens allow them to connect and interact cooperatively, which is actually more cost-effective than over-funding services, independently. A continuum of care from intervention to

assessment, detox, treatment and ultimately recovery must be common goal.

Shuffling the deck or moving money from one pocket another does not work but desire and motivation to complete circle will. Strive toward resolution, not enabling.

You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, to coin a phrase, but dedicated employees have always provided the best services possible with the funding they get each budget year. The statistics and expertise are free for the asking-no tax dollars need to be spent to "strike a committee to study the problem." The real committee has been there all along to inform, react, educate, and intervene for action and funding. We who have worked in the area for many years are the committee. We have the answers to the questions. Just ask us, walk with us, ride with us and see for yourself.

I am appalled by ignorance and comments like, "They made the choice to live that life. I'm not interested in listening or providing ... ' Hey, big spender, open your eyes and look in your own backyard, maybe in your own family. It is there but you look the other way, saying that it's not your problem. Would you walk past a drowning man because after all, it was his decision to go on the boat ride without knowing how to swim? It was his choice and it's not your problem? With that said, put your feet up and enjoy a martini or two. That's your choice.

Nobody is asking you to fix something that ain't broke. We are asking you for your support to fix something that is broken.

It is beyond the could-have, would-have and should-have stages.

My book speaks to societal problems that exist in any civilized city worldwide. I nursed thirty-three years in this anti-social environment. Emotional, psychological and physical devastation was my teacher.

The drugs we are seeing on the street today are quickly produced in large amounts and provide big bucks for the producer. Ingredients are readily obtainable and sales are strong at all levels of society. The result is dysfunction and the deterioration of treasured and respected societal mores. There is no so-called "druggie corner' in our cities anymore; drugs are available everywhere, including Kerrisdale, Point Grey, English Bay and out at the University. Manny and I were once called to identify a body in St. Paul's hospital morgue. It was a beautiful girl from a wonderful upper class family, who had died of an overdose in the Hazelwood Hotel on East Hastings. We waited at St. Paul's for her parents after we'd confirmed who it was. Manny and I knew the girl's mom well, because she had been downtown many times looking for her beloved daughter. So very sad for everyone!

The problem is no longer epidemic but endemic. As I've said before, the mean age of youth experimenting with crystal meth, crack cocaine and Ecstasy is twelve years, with little gender distinction. Teachers are noticing marked changes in attendance, attitude, peer association and motivation. Parents are embarrassed and feel like failures. They are often in denial until the fabric of the family is seriously threatened. Don't forget to lock up your computer monitor cleaning fluid, because they're huffing it! 路 The 'corner' is no longer the place where drugs are. Now it is where the pain and misery of the addict, the marginalized, the dually-diagnosed and the poverty-stricken are visible to people on transit or in cars. But seeing them isn't enough. People avoid "going through there" instead of thinking about what they see and what they can do. The question is, what can individuals do if their government doesn't seem to care?

In many cases a token budget is allotted and then the governing political party takes a bow for carrying through on election promise. But a band-aid application of miserly funding will not slow the deterioration of the Downtown Eastside. The term "homeless" is misunderstood by society and glossed over our elected officials. Our own prime minister, Stephen Harper, made media statements recently that used the word "junkies" in reference to Downtown Eastside residents.

Look in the mirror, politicians at all levels of government. The image reflected is one of gross negligence toward those interpreted as disposable people. Lumping all Downtown Eastsiders into the "junkie" category is indicative of the same attitude that led to irresponsible delays in acting on the long list of women missing from the area.

Meanwhile political "junkies" band-aid over the issues of the Downtown Eastside, misinforming and placating the people who elected them and trusted their mandate. In 2008 a $100 monetary "fix" was mailed to every citizen in the province of British Columbia by the finance minister as a "climate action dividend' -even to addicts and prisoners' Hmmm, no buzz, no high, not even pain relief for the Downtown Eastside. Think about the total dollars sent out and how much harm reduction we could have received for that amount.

Members of our provincial government got a substantial increase in salary a while ago, more than any collective agreement entitlement for hardworking union members, those on approved long-term disability, minimum wage or worthy welfare recipients. It is time to stop rewarding negative behaviour by our governments. We are paying for their gas and they are giving us flatus in return. Trust me on this-1 am a retired nurse and no longer a mouth breather.

Mugged, Drugged and Shrugged: The Wrong Side of the Eastside by Bonnie Fournier. Trafford Publishing. Pg 179-183

Missing since May 2011

Angeline Eileen Pete Last seen in North Vancouver

Angeline is a 28 year-old, Quatsino First Nations Woman.

Approx 150 lbs, 5'4" Long brown hair (has been known to dye hair) Brown eyes (has been known to wear coloured contacts) Please help, her entire family and her child miss her very much.

If you have information or tips regarding the whereabouts of Angeline Eileen Pete, please call: Cst. Jaimie Myles (604)969-7519 or Cpl. Michael Kokkoris (604)969-7519 of the North Vancouver RCMP Serious Crime Unit Or call Crimestoppers at 1(800) 222-8477 if you wish to remain anonymous.

Yorl

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***(~*****\Bl*** Carnegie Theatre Workshop Special guest teacher Sponsored by Face the World Foundation Neutral MASKS 3 Fridays, I lam-! pm with Gerardo Avila Nov 25, Dec 2, Dec 9 in the Carnegie Theatre 'f'!-'f'!-'1- !'@J'!~ 'f'!-'f'f'!-

~G1!

Three workshop sessions w1th a tocus on Neutral masks and presentation using mime, clown, magic and acting exercises. Strength, games, pace, emotions, principles. Students will receive a plastic neutral mask to work with and to keep.

Gerardo has been performing for over 35 years as a solo \. clown, mime, magician and storyteller. He has been co. director, writer and performer for groups such as Oh Sweet Clown, Electro Tecno Teatro, La Ratatouille, Snake in The â&#x20AC;˘" Grass Moving Theatre and Cirque du Solei/.

Missing women versus hockey: No contest ~

BURNAB Y NO W November 4

What is wrong with this picture?

The Missing Women Commission of Inquiry is hearing evidence suggesting that the police did not take the women's relatives' concerns seriously because the women were prostitutes, police didn't even file reports when tzunily members asked them to, and, as we heard before the hearing even started, essentially no one really wanted to invest a lot of time into the cases because they were marginalized women. The final toll of lost lives? Anywhere from 27 to 49 - the latter number com ing from the serial killer's own recollection. Contrast that with the Stanley Cup riot where no one has lost their life, where the police presence- although large- is criticized because it wasn't large enough, and where the fallout from the riot became a campaign issue in Vancouver's civic election. Yes, the riot gave Vancouver a bad reputation, and a lot of businesses and insurance companies are out millions of dollars. But it still appears there is no limit to the police resources that can be used on the riot cases. Thousands of hours of videotape have

Free, but space is limited Please pre-register at the 3rd floor program office

Circling Crows An Epic History of Birds in the DTES Oh hawk so high on the street lamp ~-.:.;;,.

Offending the local crows .~ The pigeon you hold in yo ur talons ~ Struggles intermittently ( , Unable to escape your grasp Eat5en alive, chest open 1 A murder of crows Descends - your enemy For yesterday Hawk: you took down a crow;~ll~:w1111!1ii\.;JAII It lies in the gutter Unavenged Unmoving A silent sign of guilt The pigeons flee As the crows close in ~

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Phoenix

been viewed. the premier wants the cou11 proceedings to be broadcast. Again, contrast that response to the women's inquiry where the government wouldn't even pitch in legal funds for parties to prepare presentations to the commission.

And then there's media coverage. We, the media, salivate over every mugshot of every drunken hooligan that we can get our mitts on. Oh, and did we mention that those mugshots land on front pages far more often than any of the coverage of the missing women's commission?

The comparison between resources available for missing "marginal" women and resources available for punishing hockey hooligans may seem extreme.

But isn't it a strikingly sad reflection on what we seem to place value on in our society?

Each

One~

Teach One

Free workshops

Monday, November 21st Creative Banking: Banking 101 for Artists Time: 6pm-8pm Place: Classroom 2J 3rd floorJ Carnegie Community Center Volunteers: Simon Fulber and Ashley Roder.

Learn how to open a bank account; the importance of having somewhere to keep your money as opposed to keeping cash; difference between chequing/savings accounts; how to write a cheque; how to write an invoice.

Thursday, November 24 The Business of Art: Budgeting 101 for Artists Time : 6pm-9pm Place: Classroom 2J 3rd floorJ Carnegie Community Center Volunteers: Stefa KatamayJ Mila KhaskinJ and Jaspreet Dhillon.

This workshop wiLL be heaviLy budget-focusedJ but weJLL save some time for speaking about discLosing information to the government) tax write-offsJ and cLaiming income & assets to the Ministry (i.e. Income Assistance and DisabiLity benefits) .

Seating is limited. Please register for 1 or 2 workshops by: Friday~

Nov

18~

12 noon.

Contact: Jason BouchardJ coordinator DTES Small Arts Grants Phone: 778-879-9843 Email: dtesartsgrants@gmail.com

Thanks to our Sponsor!

Van city

My Little Sister To takea minute we are all born innocent To look at you i oung and pure Animated, spinning, wobbly _Ji full ofl~ve somewhat topsy turvy ~ unknowmg of the word insecure You whose name ~"'"''v"' untouched by evil """,_,.,,, I have never asked More from Nelly yes, young and pure nor known. of who we are, we are sure I know why 'cause I don't Nelly put her belly close to mine' of what we want to become That winter, that almost spring wanna get involved ideals so pure in Whitefish, Montana.

You're my type, and that's we do not yet know The Jake frozen lightly - a skim of surface hard for sure, but I don't how hard Iife is We ran naked and jumped butts nor booze likewise we are blinded by our light -pumped by booze and high spirits, never dope and drugs our loving hearts __ However, I really can in the clear and frosty ai r not yet jaded Stark raving loony down from Alberta for take care of- if you our light is not yet faded Easter weekend. permit me. I will treat I lost my way â&#x20AC;˘ as a long-lost sister Easter, late that year in a dark place to whom l was never The spring sun turned the snow to slush I found fake happiness really close.

Still, powder was on our lips in the stubel and held it close I'll try to deliver you I believed it was real Half sober we skied from any evil, abuse & Without goggles or protection I lied to myself entrapment. I will Swollen eyes and burned faces Just so I could smile hug you hard and Young and reckless for a short while warmly, and dab up tears, and to allow We talked beer and we talked some more When I was younger to let you cry on my Our colourful toques nodding in assent I was stronger shoulder. I will always Nelly and I had an ancient log cabin d~dn't know about getting high be at your beck and Four rooms all supplied d1dn't know this awful life call, twenty-four seven Dishes and pots - twelve dollars hadn' t yet learned how to lie I will ever wait upon God bless America and such affordable hadn't yet learned how it felt to die you hand and foot to style .. in the 70s ..

Never had really cried make sure you're safe In town people said 'Have a nice tomorrow' Never had to say a final goodbye and dry, out of and quaint let the ruin wash away protected from As the bar doors swung spring-loaded all the pain of yesterday the winter's harshness. in and out cleanse your soul An other country- Abe Lincoln's I'm in love with you and lose all control George Washington's ... Tennessee William oh yes fight fire with rain Too numerous to mention I am yours for keeps and feel no pain So exotic to we Great White NorthernersPonder this at night cry a while just before you fall off And Nelly more exotic than it all and walk away into a deep restful sleep.

Wilhelmina Maria Laniado Robyn Livingstone "

CafilegieC NEWSLETTER

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed c itizens can change the world .

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Meade

401 Main Street, Vancouver 604.665.2289

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

WANTED

We acknowledge that the Carnegie Community Centre, and this Newsletter, are occurring on Coast Salish Territory.

Artwork for the Carnegie Newsletter Next Issue SUBMISSION DEADLINE: *Small illustrations to accompany articles and poetry; MONDA~ NOVEMBER 28m *Cover art -Max.size: 17cm(6 ~")widex15cm(6")high; 2011 DONATIONS: Libby D.-$50, Margaret D.-$50, Rolf A..-$50 *Subject matter pertaining to issues relevant to the Brian H.-$100, CEEDS -$100, Bany M.·$150, leslie S.-$50, • Downtown Eastside but all work considered; . Savannah WITeny H -$200, Jenny K.-$25, Barbara M.-$200 Vancouver Moving Theatre ·$300., The Edge -$200, X' -$52, *Black & White printing only; Wilhelmina M.-$25, Sheila B.-$100, Christopher R.-$1 75 *Size restrictions apply (i.e. If your piece is too large Michael C.-$50, 0, Bonnie F.-$100, CUPE 15 ·$1450, W2-$100 Rhizome Cafe -$25 it will be reduced and/or cropped to fit; • ;.~~-:-' ~lien. Wood~worth *All artists will receive credit for their work; *Originals will be returned to the artist after being l ~ City Councillor copied for publication; .; i, "Working with you, · · for you and for *Remuneration: Carnegie Volunteer Tickets. strong neighbourhoods" Please make submissions to Paul Taylor, Editor.

GET CLEAN l Itt 604 873 7240

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Shower Up at the Lord's Rain 327 Carrall St, just off Pigeon Park HOT SHOWERS. (towel, soap, shampoo (the works) & coffee) Monday, 7-10am, (Ladies only!) ?am Tuesday, Wednesday.& Saturday

FREE DENTAL HELP 455 E Hastings: Monday & Friday, 9:30-12:30

Call604-254-9900 for information.

Cleaning only at VCC is $35; Info: 604-443-8499

FREE LEGAL ADVICE UBC - Law Students Legal Advice Program All cases checke(j with lawyers; confidential Drop-in: Tuesdays, 7- 9pm (ends 11/22111) 3ro floor Art Gallery, Carnegie Ctr, 401 Main

' _, \ 't J:lrwoodsworth@vancouver.ca carnnews@shaw.ca www.carnnews.org http://carnegie.vcn.bc.calnewsletter http://harvesters.sfu.calchodarr

Jenny Wai Ching Kwan MLA WORKING FOR

You

1070-1&.11 Comrnercial Or. V5L 3Y3 Phone: 604·771r-0790

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

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So rightiess , So loveless · So hopeless , 1y1#1 God is a falsehood An all-purpose scapegoat for the faults of humanity In realization of this I had gone in search of evil I'd heard Festering In back roads Below bridges High-rises Tucked away Until curiosity pushed

Brought me him, Brought me God in powdered form, Brought me love too intense for sheltered lambs to know Where is the sheltered lamb?

Her carcass has fled Left empty skin drowned in excess depths of regret I am rightless in my circumstance I am her hopeless hollowed heart I am a lover left loveless held up by a needle, needless to say I need

Tyranny rules by convention Normalizes our oppression Seeking to regulate and control Every aspect of life from Consciousness to labour Squeezing us all into a slot or Fencing us out keeping Its foot on our neck Keeping order the time of tyrants is over the problem is they won't admit it they're not about to relinquish Voluntarily their hold on the world's resources.

Scraps of sanity scream Stop Get out Go Run Now But I do, do, do Him Him Oh god please not him Butldo,do,do All the defeat whispers Stop Stay Sit, first another hit And rewards me with dreamless slumber Brought who him, him, him?

Brought who Satan slicked up in whose veins?

Brought who misplaced love, guided hatred and delirious sorrows in strange men lost lambs should never know?

Amber

The last of the tyrants is frantic his rhetoric lacks the zest of a slick commercial on TV with less conviction he realizes that he is finished even as he carries on with his part in the plunder of the world that we are all part of.

A frantic tyrant is lethal it doesn't take a prophet's skill to see the collapse of a system that relies on the complicity of its victims the tyrants need us to believe in them to buy in to their system to pay for our oppression if they kill us all off they have no one to rule the time for resistance is now that we may devise a joyful end to tyrannies limited vision that no more shall anyone profit from the distress of another and eople everywhere are free to live With reverence upon the land.

Delanye

Race Though I had won the race quite clearly, the father of the boy in the next lane, snatching his son across the line, claimed his son had won. After the judges had given me the large fire truck for first prize, I handed it to the boy and took the small pack of Matchbox trucks. I had begun crying but was then able to stop . The feeling (and I have only figured this out after years of intem1ittent reflection on this incident from my fifth year) that I had at the time was one of greatest anxiety and disappointment. Whatever happened, it seemed to me then, it was the loudest, most boorish and selfish who would win, even if they lost, because they would insist, even as my father had insisted I accept the first place prize, which by that time, what with the other boy's father holding his son tightly and completely ignoring what affect his protestations and insults were having on him, had become a thing of evil, a word I never use anymore, by the way, but which still seems appropriate in this case even now. I was, in fact, both afraid for the boy and quite honestly sorry for him.

Talking to someone recently, I was reminded that, among native people in Canada, there is generally a sense or feeling of unworthiness, the result of genocidal and racist police, church and state policies over a couple centuries, it is often stated. This feeling too, later, became part of the story of my own life as a race, perhaps, not that it is a race, but that, looked at as if it were a race, though I might come in first, once in a while, on a deeper level, I have never won and will never win. This attitude, this refusing first prize, becomes unavoidably, in a

society like ours based on arrogance and selfcentered so-called success or so-called salvation, a society where the loudest, pushiest, most terroristlike insistence, legislation and enforcement of some inane right or correctness or best always rules, antithetical, then becomes unworthiness, and eventually, I think, becomes invisibility. (The native fellow telling a couple film crew folks about hard times for migrant workers in the Okanagan is invisible to them, only his stereotype remains, halfdrunk and a potential security threat to their cords and equipment, their vehicles parked in the lane where he usually drinks with his buddies. They seem to listen, to tolerate his presence because he's an Indian, a similarly inebriated and blithering Caucasian they'd have dismissed or chased off immediately.) This corporate, academic, professional, managerial, political insistence and enforcement, this society of save yourself and right-is-what-rules doesn't even have words to describe what I am talking about, and yet any discussion of culture, whether 路it's native culture or the so-called mainstream, that does not begin with the best alternative to corporatist mentality, the hunter-gatherer mentality, for lack of a better word, for example, is merely insulting and asinine entertainment, like the Aboriginal Achievement Awards. We're all fucked, we're all certainly wrong, and kindness or compassion or love is all, surely, but I can't help feeling one can't be saved or successfi.1l here, or even attempt to be saved or successfi.1l , without becoming something of a terrorist of humanity.

Dan Feeney

reality poetry 1 sit down on a bench in grandview park a man around 30 sits down ne>..t to me his dark face is scored with acne and he just starts tal.kin to me

" i never had a girlfriend never had one don't have the looks it takes looks

and started laughin at me it felt like everybody on the bus was lookin at me and laughin i got off the bus \ i wiped off my shoe but i still stink i panhandle enough each day for a bottle i live outside i sleep outside ·· i can't get in the shelters i went to one today they tol_d me i smelJ.~ ba~Ji._ they sa1d you stmk · 1q ·: ~H..r~·..:. and you smell like you been the only time ··.,.. • · i have a place to stay"'~ " ~l is when i'm sick enough

~~~~-·~Siillllr.~ -~

to get in the hospital .. .,.. ...,...--~-~;il;"l for a couple of days"

he looks at me and grins i get up to go to the pool at britannia .:. . . .. to try and steam some of the tension out of me .:_ ·. .;. . . ;'-c~· · -..~· :1 · and he holds out his hand .,~.d""~'"tltJ, and our hands do not shake each other' s so much as embrace ··· " ,;-;,.;· :.,,\7 ~:-J~~i~ and i walk away · · ·;·,~. .~:~ .: , . ,.,~~ ~•. · ~7 If ·~""'"" "1 thinking how lucky · ' · · ·· · · · · i was today ' · to meet such a very Bud Osborn great poet o• .o

*fU%n 'tet "J'U6 ~ bY carI maria von we/ier clar~~ - johanna

hauser w ola - henry lee; cello- finn manniche v~oL~~A-s. - ann okagaito & mark ferris

•

A"

A Huge THANK YOU to Everyone Involved!

Producing a festival on the scale of the Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival is a huge undertaking. It is a unique endeavour unparalleled, not just in Vancouver but also in Canada.

We couldn't produce this festival without the vast support of community individu als, organizations, sponsors and audiences. Your participation is greatly valued and appreciated!

Thank you to the many artists and organizations in the neighbourhood who present their work during the festival with commitment, passion and generosity. Your strong voices are essential to the success of the festival and to our community.

And t hanks to all the community members, organizations and businesses that welcomed the Festival into your spaces, parks and onto our sidewalks. Thank you for collaborating with us to present a spectacular festival of music, poetry, stories, visual arts, media arts, workshops, food, ce lebrations, talks and walks that reflect our home and community in the Downtown Eastside .

To continue to enjoy the 2011 festival visit: www.ahamedia.ca, the blog site of AHA Media.

There you will find an abundance of photos and videos of many festival events.

The future: if you have a project or a program idea to contribute or suggest for next year's 2012 Festiva l give us a call, 604-628-5672, or talk with Rika 604-665-3003.

Thank you once more!

The Festival program and production team www.heartofthecityfestival.com