Do you have what it takes to stay and watch the credits when a movie ends?

There are two kinds of people in the world. 1) Those who leave the movie theatre when the credits start to roll and 2) those who stick around to actually read the credits. Obviously, I’m part of the latter group.

It all started for me circa 1985 when the 1982 comedy The Toy constantly aired during a free trial period of HBO. I loved that movie, without good reason. All I remember about it now is that at the end a kid shoots a guy in the forehead with a suction-cup dart gun. And that’s the end of the movie.

Then the credits roll. At the very end, the last thing to rise up on the screen was the symbol for The Motion Picture Association of America. At that point, I would scream with excitement, “Ball, ball, ball, ball!…”

I think the reason I was so ecstatic was because it reminded me of one of the enemies from an Atari game I played all the time. And that taught me to stay tuned to watch the credits at the end of movies. To see The Ball. At some point, my motivation stopped being to see The Ball and instead to find out actors’ names and the location of filming.

It’s always interesting to see when a movie is filmed somewhere other than Los Angeles or New York.

Plus, there’s always a possibility of a hidden scene after the credits- most perfectly executed in Napoleon Dynamite.

Thanks to Sean Holman and Public Eye Online for bringing us this video, starring the grand poo-bah Gordon Campbell and his guard…lady press secretary extolling the wonderful amazing fantastic progress the libs have made on child poverty in BC – which is the highest in the entire country.  Although I think Sean owes me a new coffee after making me spit mine all over the keyboard when I heard the crap coming out of the great grey ones mouth. Investing in education?  Investing in education?  This, from the man who cancelled  the Premiers Excellence awards at the last-minute, along with other post secondary grants? (  And he says it with a straight face too, like he’s actually really concerned about all the cold and hungry children this year. )

Now go. Go and watch this, then read that list of 100 reasons not to vote for Campbell again. Here

A couple days ago, one of my  regular readers( astro)  shared a shocking story here in the comments section. His source for the information was http://willcocks.blogspot.com/.

During one of last weeks storms and ensuing high seas, a cargo ship that was anchored offshore Mayne Island was pushed onto a reef, where it immediately became a serious threat to the coastline.  While the ship was a cargo freighter, the fuel tanks may have been carrying up to 1.2 million gallons that- had the hull been punctured or breached- would have had catastrophic impact on our coast line.

Now, ships run aground more frequently than one thinks, so the fact that a ship became grounded on a reef is not the shocking  part of the story  that I refer to.

What is shocking, is that the BC Ministry of Environment saw the seriousness of the situation, and immediately notified the American government – but did not tell British Columbians one word. The American government issued a press release immediately, and swiftly mobilized staff to monitor the situation.  I can not find one word of a press release from our government, still, today.

From Paul Willcock’s Blog:

So the B.C. Environment Ministry told Washington State, but provided no information to British Columbians.
The DFO, as far as I can tell, provided no public information.
The Gulf Islands Driftwood had the story by Friday afternoon.
But 72 hours after an incident that “could have oiled the islands on both sides of the border,” according to the government of Washington State, only a small number of British Columbians knew about the grounding. Governments were silent.
The argument for tanker traffic relies heavily on the effectiveness and accountability of governments in protecting the public interest.
But only Washington seemed to think this important enough to tell the public about.

 The B.C. and Canadian governments didn’t think you needed to know.

Grant from The Straight Goods, took a break from busting Christy Clark’s chops long enough to give his take on the situation, HERE.  

Today is Tuesday, November 24th, and as of yet I have heard, nor read any coverage of this locally. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

In fact, had it not been for ‘astro’ bringing us that bit of information from Paul’s website, I would never had heard about the incident that ” posed a significant risk of a large black oil spill” and ” could have oiled  the islands on both sides of the border”. Likely you would not have either, unless you read Paul’s site, or Grant’s blog.

To me, it is completely unacceptable that the BC government would see fit to warn Americans of the possible danger of this grounding, but leave British Columbians in the dark! It makes me wonder at what point would they have issued a press release? When the oil was lapping on our shores?

If anything, this incident give me another reason to make something old, something new again. The Enbridge Northern Gateway Pipeline Project.

An issue for me the moment I heard about it, this is something I have been blogging about since May of this year, trying to inform as many people as I can.

The following is a re-post of a piece I published here online back in July, and leads you to links on other bits I’ve done previous to then, that will give you even more background on why this latest incident should make you all think about the risks we may shortly face along BC’s beautiful coast.

Debate rages on over Enbridge ‘Northern Gateway’ Project and the Liberals plan to allow oil tankers along the B.C. coast

As I sat and watched the CBC documentary, ” Black Wave: The Legacy of the Exxon Valdez” , I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before a disaster like this hit our beautiful B.C. coastline. That is, if the Northern Gateway project goes ahead in northern B.C., resulting in oil-supertankers zig-zagging their way along-side it.

The focus of intense scrutiny from both residents in the area and environmentalists alike, the project centers around the  construction of two pipelines that  will, when built, originate in the Edmonton area ,cross northern B.C. and will end in the port community of Kitimat. This is where Enbridge will construct a new  port terminal, complete with two berths to accommodate oil tankers.  Residents and environmentalists are worried about the likelihood of oil spills along  both of the pipelines and the coastal waters of British Columbia –  frankly, so am I.

I’ve written about this issue previously HERE and HERE- covering both the political and environmental angles of it. Although the NDP brought this project and the likelihood of oil tanker traffic along our coast up as an election issue,( oil tanker traffic has not been allowed along the BC coast for years, but Gordon Campbell plans to change all that)  I’ve heard nothing since their defeat – a shame on all counts. The issue has certainly become no less important  nor has it gone away.

 This is why the timing of an email I received from a Kitimat resident was so relevant to what I learned from the Exxon Valdez documentary. But first, let’s take a look at the statistics.

Contrary to information given by those who support the project, oil spills at sea are not uncommon events at all. In fact, they  actually happen all the time – they are just not highly publicized unless it is such a disastrous event that it merits the fleeting attention of the press. A good majority of spills happen at sea, and never even merit a mention, and some go entirely unreported. The documentary mentioned above covers all of this in complete detail, and is a must see for anyone who cares about this coastline.

 According to the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation, there were 13 reported spills in 2007, and 3 of them were over 700 tonnes, which is considered to be a large spill. 

It is accurate to say that with the number of oil tankers predicted to be travelling the coast of BC carrying condensate and oil back and forth from the pipeline, it is not a matter of  ” if a spill happens”, but rather “when it happens”.  And unlike spills at open sea, a spill among the islands and channels of the B.C coastline would have devastating and long-lasting  consequences for years to come.

Nearly twenty years after the EXXON spill, there is still oil to be found in the area, not to mention the economic and personal costs inflicted on the residents that have never disappeared.

For example, the bankruptcies that occurred when several fisheries tanked as a result of oil contamination that affected the fish runs.

 A class action court case that took so long children grew into adults while it continued on, because Exxon vowed they would do everything they could to NOT pay that judgement.

And the suicides – let us not forget those. Wonderful and vital members of the town of Cordova, Alaska who lost much during the years following the spill – including all hope – and could no longer bear the stress and strain of life after EXXON.  There is no compensation for them, or their families because how can you attach a monetary value to a life.

In the end, the ocean and the town and the people in it were nothing more than a big bill to Exxon, a bill they didn’t even want to pay, because to pay the judgment meant losing money out of their operating capital that could be busy making them more money. Despite telling the people of Cordova they would make it right, and do whatever it took to make that happen, in the end it was not anything good or noble that made them pay- it was the highest court of law in the United States of America.

Is this what the residents of B.C. want? I can’t answer that question, because in my experience, very few people  even know this project is happening, let along being supported fully by the B.C. government. 

 It is that lack of knowledge , and the lack of attention being paid to this by most local media, that infuriates me. How can someone object to something that they have no knowledge of?  This is just what the Campbell government wants, and does best – keep silent, don’t answer any questions, and keep the people in the dark.

You will hear  the premier speaking often about opening up the Asia Pacific Gateway, but has anyone heard the premier speak about how  his government plans to handle an oil spill along the B.C coast that he promotes every where he travels? Supernatural BC alright – I wonder what will happen when boaters and coastal residents wake up and see the tankers along the coast…or worse yet, the stench of crude oil as it laps upon their beautiful seaside retreats – some of them perhaps, Liberal vacation homes.

It is the effort to inform the public  combined with a fierce love for this province that drives the residents opposed to this project up north to soldier on, people like Murrey Minchin.

 I received this letter to the editor he sent to the Northern Sentinal newspaper in Kitimat, on July 16th – Mr. Minchin will advise me if it is indeed published, as many publications in the north have developed a reputation for not printing letters that are in opposition to the project. I have inserted the link to the Enbridge webpage where the amount of oilspills they have had can be found, on page 34

http://www.northerngateway.ca/

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/natureofthings/2009/exxonvaldez/

 Resurrected, by jacksoul will forever be one of my favorite CD’s, for so many reasons.  Last night I came across a news item that lead singer, Haydain Neale passed away Sunday from lung cancer.  To say that I was shocked doesn’t even begin to explain it.

He was 39, and he leaves behind his wife and daughter, both who loved him well, in addition to many friends and colleagues. My wishes to all of you.

Haydain Neale was a rare talent, and will always have a special place in my heart, and my daughters.

 In July of 2004, I made a last-minute entry into what was then Z-95’s Jazz Festival contest, by battling wits against an American caller from down south. Half an hour later, I won the grand prize of a fantastic weekend package prize for the Jazz Festival. Included was a weekend- long, Lexus SUV rental, three luxury suites at a swanky downtown hotel, a $ 300.00 gift certificate to Granville Island Brewery restaurant,  a limited production Sandhill wine basket, and best of the best, tickets to see JackSoul live at the Centre for Performing Arts. There was nothing I did not love about Haydain Neale.I loved his  effortless style, his soothing sound, his easy way of making love out of musical notes with a voice that felt like it was stroking your skin like a lover should. He could take it from a wicked beat about a breakup gone bad to a lazy laying on the beach feel in a heartbeat, and it was effortless.

The weekend prize was beyond fabulous. We took the kids and another couple and had the most fantastic night out, and funny enough, we ran right into Haydain Neale in the lobby of the hotel as we arrived. I was gobsmacked to say the least , and while I was trying to play it cool, I was really just over the moon, as were my kids. My daughter who was 13 at the time, was a super-mega-crazy fan of his, and this was every teenagers dream! Ok, it was mine too…I admit it.

After the concert, Haydain was signing autographs in the lobby, and of course we went over and brought our CD’s. My daughter was so beside herself at seeing him face to fact that she couldn’t even speak, her eyes all sparkly with the moment and a grin from ear to ear.

I told Haydain what a huge fan she had always been of his, even before the latest big hits, as was I.  He was shocked that a girl that age was so into his music, and told her he had a daughter too, of nearly the same age. We chatted for a moment and he thanked her so genuinely for being his fan, and asked her if it would be alright if he gave her a hug.

You have no idea – I thought her legs would give out right then and there, but she held on and he kissed her cheek, then signed my CD for me as well :

 We waved goodbye and wished him well, and then, right there in front of all the concert goers in the hall, my13 year old daughter danced her happy dance all over the place, like no one was watching….

And Haydain ? He was laughing and smiling as only a father could have understood.

A moment we both remembered together last night as I phoned to tell her the news. ” No.” she said. ” He was getting better!” No one knew he had cancer as he fought back the long road from his accident a couple years ago. The family kept it private.

We spent some time together last night,my daughter and I, on our computers - her in her dorm room, and myself here at my office, planning to get his new album that is being released December 1st, and listening to the first single release, Lonesome Highway. Proceeds of the new album will go the Haydain Neale family trust.

It’s remarkably sad that he never made it. He was, such a wonderful talent, and a remarkable soul.

But as I was going through my CD cover this morning, touching the words he wrote inside, I came across something important that he wrote to his band in the thanks you’s to everyone:

” What we do is important. We give people a reason to believe in things like faith, hope and love. Music is the true healer of the soul. It is never too tired to listen and console, always there to understand and counsel. It offers painless treatment and passes no judgement. All this with a few melodies over some dirty grooves. Keep on, keepn’ on, ma bredren. There’s much to do before we cross the Jordon.”

I hope the view from the other side of the river is just fine, Haydain. Peace.

Sales of previously-owned US homes jumped by 10.1% in October as buyers rushed to take advantage of tax credits…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: shopping service. The blog is also related to: furniture shopping.

I was discussing campaign ideas with a dinner guest this weekend, ( never too early to start) and he suggested that I simply let the record speak for itself.

” How simple. How right! What a fantastic idea! ” I said and so here we are.

For those of you who do not already know, I plan to run in the riding of Surrey-Panorama in the next election. Having reached my limit of what one dedicated woman with a passion for B.C. can take, the decision was made on election night earlier this year.

The Gazetteer has the official record of that decision…just check his live blog record from that night… ; )  I’ve worked long and hard supporting and bringing light to various issues in B.C. and Surrey, and my writing documents that. I’m beholden to no one but myself and the people who need me.

I’m working on a list right now ,but I urge all my readers to add to this list in the comments section below, and via the contact page. Every area of British Columbia has different concerns and issues! When we get to 100 reasons, I will post a permanent page above!

All  reasons are welcome here – although I live in the lower mainland now, I was born and raised in northern BC, and know firsthand that what worries us down here, is not often what worries those who make their homes in the upper half of the province.

 All that I ask is that you remain factual and accurate, and please keep in mind that I write and work without a pseudonym, and will not entertain lies, inaccuracies, and libelous material.

 That is not to infer that other bloggers do, because that is not the case – there are many, many bloggers who write under assumed names that bring to us outstanding  factual work, but for other reasons( employment, personal security etc)  cannot reveal their identities.

I am merely pointing out that I am legally responsible for what others write on my blog and this is my real name, not a persona as some might think.

 The ideas and opinions here are either my own, or those that I believe in. And I believe that Premier Gordon Campbell has provided us with a wide swath of  true and verified reasons to recall him, and his Liberal colleagues to protect the assets and quality of life of every man,woman and child that calls this beautiful province home.

But now,  scroll down now and see the 2010 Olympic video you will never see on the evening news….

"I dunno, what are the stats on the knife again?"

apocalex: I’m a huge fan of Wing Commander: Privateer.  I thought it was a great game that rewarded time investment and was a huge open sector with dozens of systems and even more bases, planets, and mining bases.  It was a totally open game, you could totally ignore the plot and still have access to everything the world had to offer.  Which meant hours of taking various missions to build up enough cash to buy a Centurion fighter with Omni radar and the best there was to offer in terms of weapons, armor, and shields.

I never had the money (irony!) to buy Mechwarrior: Mercenaries, but I heard it was about the same, fun in building up a custom mech for your gameplay style.  Diablo II was the pinnacle of looting of it’s time, giving the game a new purpose after the end of the story mode by finding extremely rare items the new draw of the game.  Borderlands is the latest in the line of randomized loot drops and crazy amounts of money.  But does money matter anymore?  You could be walking around with literally 100 million dollars, but could you use that to buy kickass gear?  Well, sure, on the the rare chance it appeared, it was worthwhile, and it was made for your character build.

The use of money in-game has declined since the old days.  It used to actually matter – where now it goes by the wayside.  There are few and far between games that give rewards in cash that can be actually useful in the game.  Oblivion attempted to offer houses – but these houses were in many ways superfluous to gameplay.  The only things you really needed to buy might be consumables like arrows, repair hammers, potions, but again, the game offered many avenues to totally bypass the need to spend much money at all.  Alchemy, stealing, re-raiding the many caves and dens of thieves and low level monsters were all ways to make the few bucks you actually needed to progress.  And with high enough faction standing, Cyrodill’s Fighter and Mage Guilds would stand empty of all but a bunch of brooms, inkwells, pickaxes.

Going back to Borderlands, the only money “sink” (to borrow from MMO lexicon) is from re-specs.  And when you have several duffel bags worth of wads, ten large here and there to re-spec is nothing.  The list of items to buy was even smaller, a few guns, a shield, a class mod, and grenade mod.  With ammo regen mods for certain classes, the only real things to purchase are healthkits (which were on the -less side of the use-less/-ful continuum).

Take a look at some other games that have been released and you’ll see how little a role money plays.  In Saints Row 2, there was a large amount of customization for your character.  Could you buy a plane though?  No.  Could you legitimately purchase the super vehicles?  No.  You could upgrade them – and that was the extent of the use of money, and in the endgame stages, once again money becomes so devalued if I could, I would walk up to each person and get followers for a few hundred grand.  Instead I could dress up like a hooker or clown.  In the context of the game – fine, you want your own style, but are you killing all your enemies, making drugs, owning neighborhoods for the love and respect of the city?  Hell no, it’s for the money, it’s for the prizes.  And when you can steal or are given half of them, then money itself becomes worthless.

JRPGs handled the subject marginally well, there was armor to obtain, it was the best there was for your level and rarely if ever dropped from enemies, so you’d need a few sets of it to equip your party.  In many games the balance was actually done extremely well, many times I would be able to get new armor just as my old armor started to feel ineffective, and most importantly of all, I could afford nearly all the sets I needed to fully equip my party, but it would drain my money reserves badly.

WRPGs (Western, I don’t know if this term is a convention already), love instant and constant gratification.  You’re always looting bodies because there’s an off chance they’ll be carrying a “rare”, which – given the amount of grave-robbing a player does, is merely a question of patience and a luck multiplier (that can frequently be changed or raised).  In Fallout 3 I was a junk collector bordering on obsessive-compulsive.  There were many times I was carrying at least 20000 bottlecaps (which were weightless, but even if they weighed 1 gram, I was carrying around a few dozen pounds.  Not to mention a few dozen fingers, and enough ammo to load out a battalion of soldiers.  The point however is that there were items that were worth decent amounts of money, and yet still weighed nothing (ammo being the perfect example).  I could collect both and freely barter with ammo to most everyone.  If I open a chest and it contains a thousand dollars or some other suitably large amount, I am not as impressed as say, it contained a really nice weapon, because money is not as important as rare objects.

Fable 2 was the true “WHY WHY WHY?” of the money problem.  Investing the money would give you a huge return after a while, and with the ridiculously limited number of items in the game, taking the time to build up money was a waste of time, and the mini games were awkward rhythm games.  One button rhythm games without music.  Boring.  The “pub games” released prior the game were also a giant waste of time, unless you truly made a fortune, it mattered very little in the gameplay of the actual storyline.  Making money for the sake of money was the key point here.  And an achievement, which as we all know (and perhaps I might elaborate on later) does not add to gameplay.

Money truly has fallen by the wayside in many games of this generation.  To be perfectly honest, even the money that one used to gain in racing sims like Forza or Grid is not as important anymore because you win cars, the money you gain from racing at the intermediate levels of Forza is almost negligible in comparison to the worth and rarity of the cars you win.  In older racing sims this wasn’t the case, winning a certain championship in GT2 would net you a nice car, but it was a long race with several pit stops, for the most part I don’t understand why they took away from the aspect of the game where you built yourself up.  You stood on your own two feet as it were, laying your foundation brick by brick after hours of playing a game that was fun in order to slowly build yourself up.

Instead of depending on magical fairy beans to fall from the sky and give you a new car, gun, bracers, sword, or upgrade.

Vans and vans full, according to this video! National must be making a fortune over van rentals for this security detail.  

Shot at the end of October on Vancouver Island, the video clearly shows a massive police presence that really-kinda-sorta overwhelms the torch runner in the middle… don’t blink or you will miss the torch altogether!

There are just so many reason this video is so hilarious -in a rather serious way.  What you can’t miss is all those RCMP, on bikes, on foot, in cars, in vans, and in that really big black armoured vehicle that someone watching refers to as the bomb squad – note the woman smiling and waving to the crowd as she sits in the back seat of that same armoured vehicle! Must be a Liberal- it’s the only safe place for one in the province right now… but what is the deal with all those mounties?  Barack Obama had a smaller detail than this torch bearer- whose torch doesn’t even seem to working properly. I bet you would not have seen this clip on CTV evening news – it just doesn’t give that FEEL GOOD feeling the organizers want everyone to believe every community has at the torches arrival! At least in B.C. that is… after all, we are going through ” Tough economic times”.

A couple of questions: Are all these officers on overtime? Because that torch isn’t exactly speeding along its journey. And if there are that many officers on security detail, where did they all come from? Better yet, whose holding down the fort back home? Geez, I really, REALLY hope those guys didn’t come from Surrey!

But don’t take my word for it, watch for yourself. And add to the discussion below…

 ***Big, big thanks to Alastair Haythornthwaite whose immortal words “Holy Shit!” concluded his epic film- ( those words courtesy of BC Mary, from her comment below! In my haste to post earlier today, I completely forgot to credit Alastair for this very telling piece of Olympic history…)

 A decision whether to approve  or decline the charges recommended against  RCMP Corporal Benjamin “Monty” Robinson,( in the death of  21-year-old Orion Hutchinson,) is expected shortly.

  ” Certainly, we are not talking about a matter of months, nor are we even talking about a matter of weeks at this point,” said Robin Baird, A/Communications Counsel for the Criminal Justice Branch, when I interviewed him by phone this afternoon in Victoria. ” The public can expect an announcement shortly.”

When asked why there has been such a delay in the decision, Baird went on to say that Crown received material disclosure  in the case as recently as this week, and added:  ” The time is ripe for a decision.”

” We are nearing completion, but we need to be deliberate and complete in considering the information.”

When asked if the public could expect an announcement before Christmas, he replied: ” I would say most certainly.”

 On october 25th,2008, Orion Hutchinson was riding his motorcycle  in Delta when he was struck by an off-duty RCMP officer – Corporal Benjamin ‘Monty’ Robinson.Hutchinson died at the scene, but  Delta police said the driver of the vehicle that struck him left the scene, and returned later where he failed a breathalyzer test.

 Following a lengthy, 7 month-long investigation, Delta police  finally announced in June, of this year, that they were recommending  charges of dangerous driving causing death, and impaired driving causing death.

Since then,Crown has been the subject of  public scrutiny for the length of time it has taken to make a decision to proceed on those charges or not, in light of the fact one year has passed since the death of Orion.

Baird said that Crown is always mindful of the family’s emotions – as well as the public’s - with regards to justice, but that it is important every bit of material is thoroughly examined before proceeding.

When asked if the delay had anything to do with the charges being recommended against a member of the RCMP, Baird said:

 ” Absolutely not. ”  Baird repeated that Crown is always mindful of the need for public confidence in the system.

Corporal Robinson was the senior officer among the four  RCMP members involved in the tasering of Robert Dziekanski at YVR .

Apparently Translink  might need to leave a trail in order to lead people across the Golden Ears Bridge !

 Our ‘Powell River Persuader’ has  The Straight Goods for you, on this statement and more on his site this morning.

It’s a gutbuster of a post. http://powellriverpersuader.blogspot.com/2009/11/translinks-spokeman-drew-snider-says.html

Support for striking HandyDART workers has come from Gordon Wilson, who posted this on his Facebook account : http://www.facebook.com/gordon.f.d.wilson?v=app_2347471856

British Columbians have cause to be angry with what is transpiring in the HandyDart strike. Sadly, too many of us, pre-occupied with pressing events in our own lives, don’t really know the issues. If we did, I suspect that we would feel a collective shame at how this service has been allowed to deteriorate, and we would demand action from our elected representatives.
There are three reasons why British Columbians need to get engaged in this dispute. First, a society is judged by the manner in which we look after those who a generation ago looked after us. Second, society is judged by way we treat those who, for reasons beyond their control, need help and special services to assist them in living productive and inclusive lives. And, third, it is judged by way we look after the sick and infirm.
As a society we are failing on all three counts by ignoring the HandyDart strike.
There is something seriously wrong in a society that pays the guy who picks up your garbage and hauls it to the dump more than a person who, with care and patience, picks up your frail, aged mother, or your sister who needs dialysis, or your handicapped brother, and makes sure they get to their medical appointment and home safely. Similarly, there is no rational explanation why a transit bus driver in West Vancouver should make, on average, $8 dollars more an hour to drive a scheduled route than an individual earns who picks up passengers at the doorstep and not only transports the passenger, but helps him or her on and off the bus, keeps an eye out for possible medical issues while in transit, sees him or her safely home, and in some cases cleans up after them. And yet, wage is not the critical issue for most drivers in this dispute.
To be sure, the drivers are angry that their pension and benefits will be removed and replaced with an RRSP and self subscribed benefit schemes. Who wouldn’t be angry? An RRSP is not a pension plan, and the provision of benefits as part of an employment contract is something that millions of Canadian workers enjoy. It is also a fundamental part of the Canadian commitment to accessible and affordable health and dental care. But then, one wouldn’t expect an American company to understand any of that, which brings me to the second point of concern.
The Translink Board awarded the management contract for HandyDart, which is worth $113 million of your tax dollars, to the highest bidder. That bidder was an American for-profit company called MVT Canadian Bus. This company has become known as the Walmart of transit companies. It is profit-driven, service-lean and the eight managers in the United States keep a close eye on the company bottom line. In some economic sectors, squeezing deliverables to increase profitability would be a worthy goal, but not taxpayer-funded, specialized, public transit services for the vulnerable in our society. In the past, the HandyDart services were run by non-profit societies within our communities, and any surplus or profit would flow back to the society, keeping your tax dollars at home. MVT Canadian Bus takes our money south of the border.
There is a growing trend in this province, supported and encouraged by the Campbell government, to put a new and very different priority to the spending of our tax dollars. More and more “crown corporations” are being hived off to become pseudo-private corporations, with recruited American CEOs who enjoy huge wages fully paid for by our tax dollars. They bring with them an American corporate culture that pays the top management first and is prepared to trim service to afford it. Witness the ridership bonus in the MVT contract with Translink that builds in financial reward by keeping riders on the bus longer. If you are a dialysis patient, the last thing you need after treatment is to be kept on the bus for additional hours, and yet that is exactly what is happening.
This situation is a shameful example of the slow change in the priorities of the provincial government, and yet with a complacent population and a weak, silent opposition, this is just the beginning.
With the Olympics and Paralympics a few short weeks away, expect that the government will legislate the HandyDart drivers back to work. Expect also that they will do to these drivers what they did to the Ambulance service, namely, legislate the last offer by the Employer, and by so doing, cause this service to erode even further.
These men and women need and deserve our support. Contact your MLA and demand that he or she rise up and speak out in favour of a full and fair binding arbitration that will take into account the real issues of this dispute. Write to the Premier and the Leader of the Opposition, but above all, educate yourself. When you do, I am sure you will be as angry and concerned as I am that we not lose this valuable service. Our voices together may help to solve this issue, and avoid the collective shame that doing nothing will invoke.

I’ve posted about this dispute over the last month, here,and in the post titled ” HandyDART dispute adds to growing discontent in the BC labour force”, where I talk about the growing possibility of a general strike in British Columbia,( more on that HERE )  and there is a comment stream on both worth checking out.

Tensions boiled over yesterday when striking workers tried to force their way into a downtown hotel where Metro mayors and Translink officials were meeting, in an effort to try and get the officials to pressure their employer to agree to binding arbitration. The move was not succesful.

I’d say that MVT is banking on the fact that with colder, wet weather coming, as well as Christmas, the union will cave in and accept the last offer that was on the table. After all, MVT is hardly losing out in this dispute!

I’d like to add something to this mix now. In looking around at various media sources, it seems that I have read operations CP John Siragusa state several times that their company has never had a labour dispute in their 35 year history, in the US.

I guess Mr. Siragusa forgot about the 2007 strike in New York city where MV Transportation drivers were among those from 4 transportation companies that provided paratransit services to New Yorkers, and walked out aftercontract talks broke down.   I’ve included the links to those stories to refresh his memory, in the event he reads this.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/nyregion/10handicapped.html

http://www.thechief-leader.com/news/2007-12-21/News_of_the_week/Paratransit_Strike_in_2nd_Week.html

http://handydart.info/articles/ny_strike_xmas2007.html

And interestingly enough, I wonder if the fact that Tom Prendergast, now departed CEO of Translink, had anything to do with the contract being awarded to this company at all, considering local non-profit organizations had been running it for years. After all, coming from New York, Tom would  likely have been familiar with MV Transportation, which is the US’s largest provider of paratransit services.

MV Transportion, the American parent company to the local MV Canadian Bus, has not been a stranger to complaints about some of it’s nation wide contracts.  This link was one I posted as a comment in one of the previous HandyDART post,but let’s take a closer look at it. Excerpts:

A review of news reports and lawsuits in other jurisdictions, as well as interviews with paratransit riders and advocates, suggests that along the way to becoming the country’s largest provider of paratransit services, MV Transportation has not always put passengers first.

~snip~

Wendy Klancher, a transportation planner at the federally designated planning agency for the D.C. metro area, has heard similar stories. She calls MV “the Wal-Mart of paratransit.”

“Their modus operandi,” she says, is “to be the low-bid contractor and outbid the other competitors and then actually end up getting more money because it turns out they can’t operate within the bid.”

Moeller said her experience with the company in Calfornia fit the pattern. “Immediately after getting the bid, they started cutting services because they couldn’t afford to keep up with the contract,” she said.

In Washington D.C., MetroAccess ended up spending over $6 million on top of MV’s original $204 million contract, to help them maintain standards of service, according to Klancher and published reports.

Enough said.

The HandyDART workers have a facebook support group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=308711650295&ref=mf

Hi,

the iPhone App Credits version 1.2 is now available on the AppStore.

One of the major improvements is the redesign of the look and feel. The calculation is now automatically done, when the user changes one value.

One further new improvement is that the In App Purchase functionality has been incorporated. You can now download the functionality to manage multiple credits and to get further calculation results.

Any feedback about this new release is highly appreciated!

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A victory that may see the trial beginning as soon as January 201o!

Bill Tieleman has the ruling on his site now, and will be following with his analysis as the day continues, so be sure to check back shortly. Here is an excerpt of his breaking news story from moments after the decision was handed down:

Basi-Virk Special Prosecutor Bill Berardino has won a landmark appeal in the Supreme Court of Canada this morning when the court overturned two BC lower court rulings on the issue of secret witness testimony in the BC Rail corruption case.

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision means testimony about why a police informer must have his or her identity protected will take place with defence counsel, media and the public all excluded – leaving only trial judge Anne MacKenzie and the Special Prosecutor team present in BC Supreme Court.

The decision also means the trial of David Basi, Bob Virk and Aneal Basi will proceed as early as January 2010 – unless defence lawyers are successful in having it dismissed with an abuse of process motion they plan to introduce soon.

Former BC Liberal government ministerial assistants David Basi and Virk face breach of trust and fraud charges over allegations they provided confidential information about the $1 billion privatization of BC Rail in 2003 to lobbyists acting for a bidder in exchange for money and other benefits. Aneal Basi faces money laundering charges related to the case.

The case exploded into public view when police raided the BC Legislature in an unprecedented search for evidence on December 28, 2003 but the case has been repeatedly delayed from going to trial over disclosure of evidence issues. Defence lawyers say there are now “millions” of pages of evidence.

Evan Chandler has finally learned that chickens always come home to roost.

In life he was never forced to answer his crime of extortion and slander that he committed on the late King of Pop, when he forced his son to lie about an alledged molestation that Michael Jackson had committed on him.

He accepted a financial payment of 15 million dollars to settle the case of sexual molestation, which proved to me that it was all a lie, designed to extort money from the king of pop, because really people….who does that.

There is no father on the planet earth that settles a sexual molestation case for any amount of money for a crime against his own child, and if they do, that should be criminal.

It all never happened, and from all reports,the karma that was visited upon this family for this graft against Michael Jackson, destroyed their family, rightly so.

I believe that they earned all the disdain and contempt from the world, for this criminal act.

Evan Chandler,65,the father of a boy who accused Michael Jackson of child molestation, Jordan ‘Jordy’ Chandler has been found dead in an apparent suicide.

The Beverly Hills dentist a Jersey City official said Chandler was found in bed with a single gunshot wound to his head. He was still holding the gun when the body was found. He took his own worthless life,which is the most honorable thing this criminal could have done.

A source confirmed the death, which occurred on Nov. 5.

Police said it does not appear that he left behind a suicide note.

Evan Chandler reported Jackson to authorities in 1993, claiming that the singer had abused his son Jordan, then 13. Jordan repeated the accusations to a psychologist, sparking a criminal investigation.

 Chandler and his son settled out of court for a reported $15 million and never publicly discussed the case.

The former dentist and aspiring screenwriter had several cosmetic procedures, rendering him virtually unrecognizable from the way he looked since the Jackson matter, a family source said as reported in the New York Post.

It is said that Evan Chandler looked like a botoxed version of a young Rob Lowe in the body of a 65  year old. I hear that he truly had a shocking bad plastic surgery look to his messed up face. Some have said he looked ridiculous.

Who knows maybe he wanted more than Michael Jackson’s money, it looks like he tried to copy what was perceived by the public as an addiction to plastic surgery that left him unrecognizable as well, but at least he was a star entertainment, this extortionist had no excuse but his mental instability.

His son did not want have anything to do with him, because he is ashamed and knows that the world hates him for lying about Michael Jackson in such an unseemly way. His dad masterminded the whole set-up of lies, because he was mad at his ex-wife, and wanted to punish her as much as possible.

The dad should have been incarcerated for child abuse and extortion a long time ago, now it’s too late.

Jordan Chandler claimed his dad attacked him with a dumbbell weight and got a restraining order against his dad in fall 2006.

The boy, now 29, has never spoken publicly about the case. In recent years, Jordan has reconnected with his mother — about the same time he and dad Evan had a massive falling out, sources said.

It looks like to me Evan Chandler did not want to have anything to do with himself as well.

Let it be known that there will be no city shut down, no throngs of mourning fans, and no billion dollar cottage industry developed in your honor to continue your legacy of love, caring, sharing, or musical genius.

No, your passing will not even be a significant moment in even the life of your children, because you have doomed them to a life of disrespect from their fellow man…because of your evil deeds.

You sold you families life for a mere fifteen million dollars, and I hope you were thinking about that when you pulled that trigger, sending that bullet through your brain.

I call it Karma. I just Michael Jackson had not been murdered by his doctor so he could have seen the downfall of this devil that haunted him with assistance of a rogue Santa Barbara District Attorney.

Everyone connected with the MJ false trial has ended up badly, and I am certain the same will happen for the DA  as well…time will only tell.

Now I think Jordan Chandler should man up and tell the truth.

Follow this story here, by clicking these links…

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/father_of_jacko_molestation_accuser_kek0TWE1fPywMMyQnIAxWP

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2009/11/father_of_boy_who_accused_mich.html

However, there is a catch, albeit one I think many Surrey-ites can live with.

In last nights council meeting, city council said no to the proposed increase requested by the Surrey Ratepayers Association, and told city planners to approach a neighbourhood by neighbourhood zoning approach. In this manner, anybody wishing to increase the home size in a particular neighbourhood, would have to go through a re-zoning process to do so, specific to that neighbourhood. This places the responsibility of  allowing monster home builds squarely on the people who will be affected by them within their own communities.

Using this approach, two neighbourhoods have already successfully fought the encroachment of monster homes into their  older neighbourhoods, with 70% of their community supporting the proposal.  St Helen’s Park, for example, went through several years of  dialogue and planning with the city before being zoned Comprehensive Development. There are strict guidelines for new home builders in the neighbourhood that prohibit the building of monster homes, so that residents can preserve the characteristics of the neighbourhood, and maintain  a sustainable level of space for all. Potential new home owners are advised of the guidelines  by their realtors in advance of purchasing in the area.

Overall, the St. Helen’s model has been a success, and the neighbourhood retains a very livable feel and appearance – unlike many other neighbourhoods in Surrey, where green space and trees have all been razed in place of monster homes. 

As for me, I say it’s about  time council started listening to residents, because in light of recent council decisions regarding the Welcome Home rehab facility, and allowing slots into one of the poorest neighbourhoods in the city, the city has been accused of ignoring residents concerns and their duties as  council members.

A recent column by Frank  Bucholtz in the Surrey Leader, highlights the lack of proper consultation between the city and it’s residents, and he says that the cities consultation process is broken.  In uncustomary fashion, I’ve  included it here in its entirety, because I felt in this case, taking excerpts, really takes away from his  total message. Frank makes some excellent points.

COLUMN: Public left out of process

by Frank Bucholtz -Surrey North Delta Leader

Surrey’s consultation process is broken.

I couldn’t agree more with Coun. Barinder Rasode, who lamented the divisiveness and lack of meaningful dialogue at the five open houses on amending Surrey’s bylaw to allow larger homes to be built on the traditional 60-foot lots which were once the suburban standard.

Rasode said she would like to take a good look at the structure of Surrey’s public information meetings.

“I’d like it to be a true exchange of information and I don’t think these ones were. As a council, we need to take a look at (consultation) and see how we can do that differently.”

Her words came at a most opportune time. Not only has the consultation on large homes been divisive and controversial, it wound up just as the city made another attempt at consultation, this time on the plan to allow an adventure park in Redwood Park. A proposal for a five-hectare area “wild play” area, including zip lines, suspension bridges and scramble nets, was the subject of an open house on Tuesday night.

This meeting is a classic illustration of all that Rasode finds objectionable. It was held months after the initial suggestion of an adventure park was brought to public attention.

There was minimal notice to those who are interested. Unless one checks the city website regularly, or happens to see an advertisement (which do not reach some Surrey residents at all), these meetings are never known to most people.

In addition, this meeting was held from 6 to 8 p.m., which is not the most opportune time for people who are just on their way home from work, and it was held at Hall’s Prairie Elementary, the night before a statutory holiday. The school is located in a remote rural part of Surrey that is miles from a transit line.

Had I known about this meeting more than 24 hours in advance, I would have attended, given my strong concern that Surrey is letting a unique heritage park be partially taken over by a private company.

Nonetheless, the city persists in holding sham meetings like this. They take place on the premise that no one can complain about a project if such a meeting is held, because they had the opportunity to speak up.

I’ve attended many of these meetings over the years, on several occasions about development plans in my neighbourhood. They are set-ups from the very beginning. Opinions that are at odds with the planning department are pushed off to the side and never featured in any report on the meetings.

Surrey, whether by accident or design, uses a scattergun approach to public consultation. Citizens are allowed to have their say, but the feedback is so diffused as a result of the process, the essence of their concerns is completely lost.

There are exceptions. When the community is able to rally around one project and it captures enough of the public’s interest, as happened with the planned road extension through Bear Creek Park, city staff and council cannot ignore it.

But in most other situations, the current approach works very well in ensuring that the city is run by senior staff in exactly the way they want it run, with minimal interference from council – and particularly from pesky citizens.

Everyone,

This weeks artwork award goes to Shahzad Khan (www.ckcpark.net) .
Here’s sharing it with all of you

Just be sure to give credit where it’s due.

Life’s too short- now’s the time to eat chocolate, feel good and PARTY!

_______________________________________________________________________

Phat and proud girl:

Mohawk Boy:

Fat and proud monk:

Why?

As happens often in my experience with blogging, writing about one topic invariably opens the door to another.Last week I blogged about the gun registry – in particular, how using domestic violence or spousal murder as a reason for continuing the registry is not only ridiculous, but dangerous. The responses here on the blog were wonderful, and yet the personal emails sent by many were astounding. Clearly the floodgates were opened, and the need to talk about what is an uncomfortable subject for most became evident.

Of course, the recent  20/20 interview Diane Sawyer completed with Rihanna again sparked a flurry of momentary attention to the topic, but one days media attention is but a heartbeat in the life of a woman who is getting beaten and worn down with mean words. What was so striking to me about the entire incident between Rihanna and that no-name idiot who beat her, was that it so clearly bashed the misconceptions many people still have about women who are getting abused.

Rihanna- young, beautiful, successful, rich, powerful in her world. Tragically beaten in a car on the side of the road because she caught her lover in a lie and would not let it go. In her interview, she says this:

  I couldn’t take that he kept lying to me. And he couldn’t take that I wouldn’t drop it. And … it was ugly.”

If you haven’t seen the interview, I suggest you watch it. Be warned though, in my opinion it is capable of triggering emotions and memories stifled by most of us who have been beaten or otherwise abused. But it is exceedingly important to watch this young woman talk honesty about being beaten, bit and abused by someone she loved, and why other young women must not make the same mistake. Only by taking down those walls we surround ourselves with can we begin to rid ourselves of the shame and responsibility we always seem to take on for our beatings.

 Interestingly enough, Chris Brown released a statement following that interview, that contained the following excerpt:

While I respect Rihanna’s right to discuss the specific events of February 8, I maintain my position that all of the details should remain a private matter between us.

Yes, it is very common that men who beat, or even verbally and mentally abuse women, hate having that side of them revealed to others. wouldn’t do for others to know that you take out your frustration and anger on a woman, would it?

Rihanna’s experience is very common, I’m sad to say. It’s just sick. My abuser used to tell me that I deserved to get hit, for confronting him about his actions or lies. ” Your problem is that you don’t know when to shut up!”  he would tell me – after he had left me with covered with bruises that he was always really embarrassed about afterwards. What he never got, and still doesn’t to this day, I’m sure, is that other men don’t beat on their wives or lovers for saying things they don’t want to hear.

 I remember once being in the grocery store, in a line up, and feeling someone’s eyes on me. I looked around and saw a guy standing in the line up next to me, staring at my arms. More specifically, the very clear imprint of knuckles portrayed in vivid purple and blue that was revealed as my sleeve rode up. I quickly pulled my sleeve down, but he looked up at me, and our eyes met- his in disbelief and shock, then anger, and mine in embarrassment.

 He knew exactly what the bruises were from, and I had to look away from his intense scrutiny. As the line moved forward, I turned briefly to see if he was still staring, and he was, but not at me. He was staring at my abuser as if he wanted to kill him. And therein lies part of the problem of abuse:  embarrassment and shame the victim always feels, even though she should not. Rihanna echoed this in her interview when she said she felt embarrassed and ashamed, and didn’t want anyone to know that this was going on. She didn’t want people to think badly of her that she had fallen in love with this kind of person who would beat her.

What does that say about her? About me? It is embarrassing to have fallen in love with someone like that. Like it is a remark on our character, that it means there is something wrong with us to have allowed that to happen.

One of the most riveting letters I received  came from someone I know, telling the story of her failed marriage to a man who never beat her, but did expose her to the most subtle form of abuse, verbal. He would pick fights or make false accusations, leading to hours of denials on her part and repeated accusations on his, until he wore her down and she would collapse into a heap of tears. His apologies would follow and things would be fine for a period of time, and then… it would happen again.

Dangerous mind games, and just as demeaning as physical abuse because it makes you question everything about yourself: your looks, your actions, your sanity.

It was in her letter that she got to the heart of the matter, after sharing her story of these repeated verbal fights and mental dominations that left her emotionally bereft. After it was done, after the marriage was over and the fights were no more, this is what remained:

Meantime, I still haven’t figured out what the heck this( domination) is all
about. What strain of mental illness is this? Why is domination so
important to some people?

The thing is: I just wondered if you ever got a psychologist,
counsellor, whatever, to explain the “why?” of it all … you painted
a very clear image of the awful change that comes over the loved
one … why??
As you can see … it’s the giant puzzle in my life. I still don’t get
it.

Ah, there it is – that million dollar question. Why?

Why do some men walk away, and some men hit you over and over? Why do they feel the need to ridicule you, your mind and body and looks and everything about you, and yet seem so normal with their co-workers and friends? Why? Why me, why you, why her?

If you google ” Why do men abuse?”, it generates a lot of research and theories on why some men do and some men don’t. I don’t have all the answers.

I believe in taking responsibility for one’s choices in life. Barring mental illness, no one can tell me that a man doesn’t know what he is doing when he first hurts a woman. I truly believe preventing that very first occurence is key to solving the entire problem though. Often it is something small -a slap, a hard pinch, a kick. Often, the woman on the receiving end is so in shock that she can’t even comprehend the seriousness of what has just occurred. But if she does nothing, if she accepts the apology that always follows, that is the beginning of the end.

It’s about power. It’s about getting away with it. When a man hits a woman, it is because he can. Very few are punished, and very many feel a strange sense of power after they realise that. It begins to escalate in frequency and severity, a sick game of ” how far can I go?’

  Let me put it this way.

How many of you have known someone who was being abused in a relationship? A neighbour, a friend, a family member or co-worker?

Now, how many of you stepped in and tried to stop it? I bet not many. That is part of the problem  in itself. No one wants to get involved in this kind of messy situation.

That’s not to say we, the abused, don’t have our own responsibility in the matter. We certainly do. But living in fear and control does bad, bad things to a woman’s psyche, and her pocketbook, and the sad truth is that there is a massive systems failure in this regard.  As I mentioned in my story, in many cases men are getting away with little to no punishment. Women know the support systems have a limit, and the most dangerous time for any woman is when she tries  to leave. Shelters have a time limit on stays, and don’t focus on taking care of the millions of details involved in creating a new life after you have left your old one. And imagine that! Creating a new life, often with kids in tow, all while dealing with the physical and mental anguish of being assaulted… this is why so many women don’t leave. You can not begin to understand it, if you have not lived it, if you have not looked into the face of someone who claims to love you and watched every trace of their humanity drain away as they beat you over and over, despite your cries of ” Stop, please stop!”

So what do we do? How do we save all these women, and children, and future men?

We shed our discomfort in tackling a horrible issue. and we educate.

We educate . I believe that education is the key to stopping all the violence, before it even starts, and we must start with our children. In school, at home, on TV. Every single abuser is someone’s son, and every single victim is someones daughter. They could be mine or yours, it doesn’t matter, but in order to stop the cycle, we have to educate them on what abuse is, and the right choices to make to avoid being a part of it.

I also think that we have to really involve men in the process. We have to educate men to seek support rather than bottling things up, to speak out and to be vocal against violence. I think this alone can be a powerful motivator to changing the current social norms, and fathers are powerful influences on their children- good or bad.

But there is another important factor in this education, and that is punishment and deterrent. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the law does not back up the sentiment that beating your wife is an intolerable action.

Quite the opposite, with charges often being stayed if the abuser agrees to an anger management course and counselling. In cases where the abuser is charged and prosecuted, oddly enough they rarely do jail time, instead likely receiving a conditional sentence and in some cases, a conditional discharge.

A deadly standard for women in this province, and one that tells abusers it’s really not that bad to beat your wife.

It’s time to change that.

This is my story, and an explanation of how the system can and continues to ,fail us all :

 http://lailayuile.wordpress.com/2008/07/25/zero-tolerance-for-abuse-and-assault-must-be-the-standard-no-exceptions/#comment-5316

If you are experiencing abuse, or someone you know is, there are things you need to know and consider before you make a move. Access that information here: http://www.shelternet.ca/en/women/making-a-safety-plan/  Click here : http://www.shelternet.ca/splashPage.htm to access that, and more information, in 10 different languages.

Ok so I know you guy’s were dying to know what Lady Gaga was wearing in her new video “Bad Romance” so here you have it, a step by step breakdown.

Enjoy.

1. Alexander Mcqueen - Dress & Heels , Haus Of Gaga - Sunglasses

2. Haus Of Gaga - Outfit

3. Rachel Barrett – Dresses, Alexander Mcqueen - Heels

4. Alexander Mcqueen - Dress & Heels, Haus Of Gaga - Crown

5. Shinji Konishi - Bat Hair Hat

6. Vava Dudu - Trench Coat, Franc Fernandez – Diamond Crown Outfit

7. Keko Hainswheeler – Mask, Benjamin Cho – Crystal Rosaries, Alexander Mcqueen – Heels, Jaiden RVA James - Masks (On Men)

8. Nasir Mazhar - Orb, Alexander Mcqueen - Heels 

Alexander Mcqueen – Outfit

Lately, I’ve had this near-constant feeling of wanting to GET UP AND GO. Maybe you know it: where your butt starts tingling after sitting in a chair for longer than a half hour, and your feet keep twitching, and you look at pictures of Paris and nearly cry.

I know I’m going abroad in the spring, and I’m having lots of fun in Oly and at my apartment and with my friends. And honestly, even though I have the drive, I don’t really have the energy to do much other than just watch other people do amazing things. Eventually I will get to do them, too.

I have a bunch of friends who aren’t in college, and I read a bunch of websites about internships and jobs at all the places I would like to eventually be, like NYTimes, magazines, Pandora.com, and lots of others. In some ways I feel cooped up being in college, in one apartment, one town, one state… with still the same life goals. I don’t have any regrets about getting an education now, but because it’s so expensive and because I hate my class so much, I do wonder if there are many other things I could be working at. I really value the experience I’m getting with the paper (and the advisor talked to me again the other day about becoming editor-in-chief, which is insanely exciting), but I can’t help thinking all the time about the fact that I don’t actually want to work at a paper!

Earlier in the quarter I was telling my parents that usually at college, it’s so easy to just take random classes and get tons of credits and lose sight of where exactly you’re going in an education. You have to plan for what credits to get, but other than that, you’re just taking a bunch of unrelated classes that eventually are supposed to come together and sync up with what you’re interested in. But at Evergreen, it’s harder to not think about your eventual life and academic goals all the time during a program and during the year. If you can’t see where you’re going, why are you in that program? If you’re not connecting to your more broad (or more specific) academic focus, what are you doing?!

That’s why it’s so frustrating that I’m in this program and I’m being restricted to not involve my long-term interests.

So maybe I just feel antsy because of my academic frustrations. That would make a lot of sense. Also, Thanksgiving break is coming up, so hopefully I will get my kicks out then.

and this would be one of those moments.

 There has been a lot of discussion going on at Bill Tieleman’s blog in response to his post in support of the gun registry in Canada. I’m not going to get into all the details, but suffice it to say that the comments are heated and there are very few people without a firm opinion on the  matter. That’s all fine and it’s great to see the debate evolve from opinion to hard facts. But this one point is why I must open my mouth.

Using gun related spousal murders as a reason for continuing this gun registry is not only ridiculous, but possibly dangerous to women on the receiving end of domestic violence. (I really like you Bill, but I’ve got to say this). I know of what I speak from my own personal experience  ( warning- graphic), and my story is the story of many women in Canada. I back up my points, rather than relying on vague allusions and unsubstantiated generalities to make a case, unlike some of the largely anonymous commenters under his post.

 After looking around the net at discussions currently ongoing, it appears that there are a large number of gun registry supporters across Canada who  would have you believe that the gun registry can prevent or at least reduce the number of spousal murders in this country, especially in rural areas where rifles are more prevalent.  Bullshit on all counts.

 One commenter (the first - Maureen) had this to say:

  It was a bad week for women’s rights last week – first the gun registry attack by the NDP and Liberal enablers, a registry that has reduced gun-related spousal homicides.

 Sorry to say Maureen, but I can’t find any hard facts to back that up. If you happen to read this, point me to your information source.

 Bill says this in his post:

 Despite claims that the registry unfairly discriminates against rural gun owners, the reality is that access to firearms is a key factor in domestic homicides.

 Now, this is  partially correct, because traditionally in rural areas ,rifles are a common household item. More on this in a bit.

 However, Bill goes on to say this in the comments section:

 Take a look at the firearms deaths stats my friend. Take a look at domestic violence in rural communities.

 So, I did look at firearms death stats- with relation to domestic violence, and conveniently enough, another commenter to his post brought up a recent, 2008 report that indicates firearms are no more significant in cases of spousal murder than stabbings ( but no one seems to be stepping up to register or prohibit knives…) info quoted is from page 39

 Between 1997 and 2006, the most common method
used to kill male spouses was stabbing (69%). In contrast,
female victims of spousal homicide were equally likely to be
stabbed or shot (30% each). A larger proportion of female
spousal victims were killed as a result of physical force
such as beating, strangulation, suffocation or drowning

Over the past decade, the rate of firearm-related spousal
homicides decreased by nearly 50%

 In 1996 there were
27 firearm-related spousal homicides compared to 16 in
2006 (Chart 4.3).

Sadly enough, there isn’t a lot of recent or current Canadian research on spousal murder in Canada , but there has been research done in the past that says this:

 Guns

While the prevalence of violence using guns against women in rural and urban communities is not statistically significant, the current literature does highlight the greater accessibility and use of guns in rural areas to intimidate, terrorize and murder women who are in violent relationships (Websdale, 1998). In many rural areas, guns are part of the household, often used for hunting and protection. Nolan (1992) suggests that:

Domestic killings occur disproportionately in rural areas and it is believed that this may reflect the high levels of gun ownership in the country. Many victims of domestic violence also report being threatened with firearms. (1992:23)

 This finding has also been reiterated by Dansy Consultants Inc. who found that violence was a factor in 80 percent of the cases involving firearm homicides (1992:15). While gun ownership and accessibility may not be the sole reason for wife-killing in rural areas, the fact that they are present and accessible may accentuate their use in situations of violence. Second, it may be more viable to discharge a firearm in a rural area without being detected or attracting police attention.

 There you have it. Guns are used to kill women and men in that sometimes screwed up institution of marriage – but so are knives, fists, hammers, boots, boards, ropes, pillows and anything else the murderer can get his or her hands onto. In fact, I know, sadly, again from personal experience, that when responding to a domestic violence call,  the RCMP will  operate under the assumption that there ARE weapons in the house,unless told otherwise. Yes, you may argue that the gun registry will tell them prior to arrival if there is a registered weapon in the home,but how the hell that prevents the murderer from firing it, I don’t know. 

 Guns don’t kill people. People kill people. ( credit to Alex T. )  No gun registry is going to stop a man from pulling the trigger when he chooses to kill his wife or girlfriend.

 Please. Don’t use the excuse or pseudo-concern of women getting beaten and  then possibly murdered with rifles as an excuse to continue this  gun registry. It sickens me to hear that. It’s like saying having a license to drive will prevent deaths on the road from alcohol, or speed. They don’t, they just show you passed a test and keep track of your personal information. Again, bullshit.

  If someone really wanted to prevent needless deaths of women, they would be lobbying for much-needed changes to the Criminal Code that still treats the abusers with kid gloves( especially on a first offence) , demanding a reinstatement of mandatory charges for the abuser in BC, and educating Crown on how to handle domestic violence cases - not fighting to save a gun registry!

 The amount of money spent on this registry so far, would have done far more to prevent spousal murders, through public education programs, shelters and resources for women suffering the kind of severe abuse that often leads to murder. Especially in those rural areas where  women are often isolated and stay silent because there are no resources to go to.

 Yes, Bill Tieleman was right to call all these politicians gutless – but in my opinion, for the wrong reason. At least, that’s the way I see it.

My friend, photographer Doug Pyper, posted this video on his site recently, and I felt it was important to post it here again as well.
This video was  produced by ” a couple of independent film makers out of concern and love for British Columbia.”  I posted it during the election,because  it beautifully illustrated exactly why Gordon Campbell is such a danger to the future of this province. Although the election is long over, the truth of this film remains, and must be heeded.  With the introduction of the HST, Gordon Campbell gave us the opportunity to change the course of this province, and we must grab it!

For someone like me, who was born and raised in the heart of British Columbia; who played and camped and fished in the rivers and lakes and mountains around my home, and know these areas as my own, it is horrific to watch this film and know within my heart that it will happen if he remains as our premier.

If there is one thing I would ask you all to do, it would be to watch this video, and send it to everyone you know, far and wide, including your American and international friends, family and colleagues.
You’ll see why if you click the Play button…