Matthew Lee, and a group of Christians paid $75 for a permit to preach at Cambie & Hastings in downtown Vancouver at Christmas time. A passerby who disapproved of their preaching shoved Mathew down onto the sidewalk, knocking out two of his front teeth.
Matthew and the witnesses had a detailed description of the suspect for the Vancouver Police, including the fact that he was dressed in black and wearing a band across his forehead that read, "Resistance". But police seemed indifferent. They didn't take a report. They simply told Matthew to, "stay out of the vicinity." Matthew actually lives in the vicinity, in a bachelor suite in the old Woodwards building.
Matthew is a mix of Asian and native, and he said the man who assaulted him was native.
Neither myself or other bloggers know Matthew well, but he's been around for years and has never come across as aggressive. He also works for the BC Lions, looking after their uniforms.
Stephen Harper has set up an office to deal with religious persecution around the world, a move that is largely believed to be a response to recent attacks on Christians.
It's time Chief Chu sent an officer over to the Woodwards building to assure Matthew that this assault will be investigated.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
City of Vancouver & Capilano University Strip Hundreds of Poor People of Right to Vote
With the City election being tomorrow, the City of Vancouver has sent out voting cards to Downtown Eastside residents, informing them that their voting station is Carnegie Centre. Trouble is, a large percentage of neighbourhood residents are banned from entering Carnegie Centre. These bans have been instigated by City staff running Carnegie Centre or Capilano University staff running the Carnegie Learning Centre, and are jointly enforced.
When Carnegie and Capilano ban people, they are well aware that they are creating a barrier to voting. Carnegie is a standard polling station, for all elections: civic, provincial, and federal.
A man banned from Carnegie said he talked to a security staffer last week and was told that they were not allowing banned people into the building on election day. That's a lot of people, when you consider that they have banned hundreds of people a year from Carnegie, usually for freedom of expression, totaling thousands of people by now. Many never go through the often humiliating process of having their barring overturned. Many don't know there is such a process.
Even if security personnel were instructed to back off for a few minutes while a banned person entered the building to vote, many banned people are uncomfortable going back to Carnegie as they were often verbally or physically abused or humiliated during the process. One woman told me that she left the building trembling the night a security guard assaulted her; he was angry that she had been making waves about the undemocratic banning process so he banned her. "When I got my voting card and it said I had to go to Carnegie to vote, I started getting flashbacks," she told me.
And what about the guy who was banned after being thrown to the ground by three security staffers, including the head of security, because he verbally protested when they blocked him from returning his books to the Carnegie public library in a tiny pull cart. Do you really think he wants to return to cast a vote?
When Carnegie and Capilano ban people, they are well aware that they are creating a barrier to voting. Carnegie is a standard polling station, for all elections: civic, provincial, and federal.
A man banned from Carnegie said he talked to a security staffer last week and was told that they were not allowing banned people into the building on election day. That's a lot of people, when you consider that they have banned hundreds of people a year from Carnegie, usually for freedom of expression, totaling thousands of people by now. Many never go through the often humiliating process of having their barring overturned. Many don't know there is such a process.
Even if security personnel were instructed to back off for a few minutes while a banned person entered the building to vote, many banned people are uncomfortable going back to Carnegie as they were often verbally or physically abused or humiliated during the process. One woman told me that she left the building trembling the night a security guard assaulted her; he was angry that she had been making waves about the undemocratic banning process so he banned her. "When I got my voting card and it said I had to go to Carnegie to vote, I started getting flashbacks," she told me.
And what about the guy who was banned after being thrown to the ground by three security staffers, including the head of security, because he verbally protested when they blocked him from returning his books to the Carnegie public library in a tiny pull cart. Do you really think he wants to return to cast a vote?
Friday, July 22, 2011
City's subsidized meals for poor being diverted to staff making five and six figure salaries
Today on CKNW, Mayor Gregor Robertson said that the City could not possibly find further places to make cuts in the budget as the City was already "goin' bare bones".
Bare bones? City staff and management continue to fatten up on the heavily subsidized meals the City provides for them daily, even though they make five and six figure salaries. These meals, meant for the poor, are a cut above a regular cafeteria food; they have a health food orientation.
Carnegie Centre provides these quality subsidized meals daily not only to it's own staff but to staff and managers from the surrounding poverty industry organizations on the Downtown Eastside. And they provide similar, reportedly even higher quality, subsidized meals to staff and management at the Gathering Place, which is an organization downtown just off Granville St. This City meal subsidy program provided as a staff and management perk has been going full tilt for decades. Yet it was never been part of negotiated contracts.
Dan Tetrault, Carnegie's Assistant Director, is estimated to have received a minimum of $20,000 in meal subsidies over the two decades that he's worked at Carnegie -- that's a conservative estimate, based on him eating one subsidized lunch each work day. Actually, people have seen him ordering up breakfasts, lunches, and dinners on a regular basis for years. Tetrault is a CUPE member; we know that because he stood on the picket line during the last strike demanding more money and benefits.
These big earners pay no tax when they purchase these meals from Carnegie. No HST.
For years Carnegie served a full dinner, your choice of meat or vegetarian, for $3.00 every evening at 5 o'clock, except for Saturdays when the meal was $2.00. They also served a hearty lunch: an entre and a salad for $1.75. Their salads are good, they have lots of greens in them; sometimes they have potato or beet salad as well. And they served a daily breakfast for $1.75. And for years you could get a healthy low-sugar snack for under a dollar: big date squares for eighty cents, muffins for 50 cents, fruit, yogurt, granola made in-house, etc. They don't serve junk food, except for Blue Sky cola which is a little lower in sugar than regular colas.
Last year they raised the price of all meals by 25 cents at Carnegie. The meals at the Gathering Place have always been a little more expensive than Carnegie; an evening meal there is $3.75. They offer a similar range of healthy food as Carnegie.
A few years ago, a worker in the Carnegie cafeteria told me that they prepare 60 meals an evening and when they're gone, they're gone. Last year, even more of those 60 meals went to yuppies. The rock bottom prices at Carnegie were advertised in a two page spread about the Carnegie cafeteria in the Province newspaper. It was like an infomercial, emphasizing the great service this cafeteria was performing by feeding the poor. According to one regular at Carnegie, the kitchen co-ordinator, Catriona Moore, didn’t want the prices published in the Province. She was ignored. The regular noticed a rush on “yuppies” after that. “There are whole tables of them.”
Whitty avoided mentioning that she helps herself to the meals on top of her over $100,000 salary -- she used to regularly show up for the Tuesday veggie burger with a choice of green or potato salad for $1.75 -- talked to the Province reporter about the helping hand the cafeteria gives to the poor, “They come, we accept them, we feed them.” Too often she does not feed them. The poor and homeless are routinely turned away at both Carnegie and the Gathering Place. The working poor too -- people who get welfare but are allowed to earn a top up by doing odd jobs such as unloading trucks in Strathcona -- are often told the food is gone when they rush down to Carnegie after work.
A homeless guy was telling me the Sunday before last that he had arrived after 5 o’clock and the dinner at the Gathering Place was sold out. He had been looking forward to the pork dinner “with those little potatoes”. I asked him if the staff got their plates, and he said they had.
It's time for a two-tiered payment system at Carnegie and the Gathering Place. People who aren't poor can pay double for a meal. They will still be getting a bargain. Try getting the hearty Carnegie lunch at a restaurant downtown for less than $10. If unionized workers and management in the poverty industry paid more, they could help finance that cafeteria.
A two-tiered payment system would also ensure that the City is not draining customers from private sector restaurants in the City. Waves coffee shop next door to Carnegie looks like it's going bankrupt. It's close to empty much of the time. They've shrunk their hours. At Waves, they charge $7 for a burrito or wrap, before tax. And you don’t get a salad with it. Waves also competes with the Carnegie coffee shop which sells fresh ground coffee for 60 cents per take-out cup.
Carnegie could model on Quest Food store for the poor just up the street on Hastings, which requires proof that you are poor. They make that proof easy to get. They accept a form letter signed by any staffer at a Welfare office confirming that you qualify for food assistance -- these forms are apparently available from any front desk receptionist. Quest will also accept a letter from other organizations that cater to poor people. They will even take a letter from a Minister. When you give them your letter, they give you a card that you are expected to show each time you shop. That system hasn’t stopped a couple of Carnegie workers, a security guard and a former teacher, from relentlessly sneaking in there for the rock bottom prices. But overall the system seems to work; everybody I know who shops there is dirt poor.
Carnegie wouldn’t have to hire extra staff to issue these cards. They already have front desk staff who give out membership cards as part of their job description. They indicate on your membership card whether you are a Senior qualifying for extra services -- I think they put a stamp on the cards of Seniors -- so they could put a stamp on the cards of people who qualify for subsidized meals. Or give them a card in a different colour. On the "bare bones" City budget, incidentally, these front desk workers were built a brand new desk with a tall back, like a throne, after we referred on this blog to the “surfer boy” who sits at the front desk looking at the web. It was built at a time when the City claimed to be looking for efficiencies to save money.
When Mayor Robertson commented today about the City of Vancouver operating on a "bare bones” budget, he was responding to BC Conservative leader John Cummins’ statement that the new gas tax could be avoided if municipalities cut 5% off their budgets and allocated that money to the Evergreen Line. Robertson called Cummins “ignorant”. But what Cummins said is not far removed from what the homeless man who missed out on the pork said: the City throws money at Carnegie Centre and the Gathering Place and they don’t seem interested in the fact that staff inside are helping themselves.
Bare bones? City staff and management continue to fatten up on the heavily subsidized meals the City provides for them daily, even though they make five and six figure salaries. These meals, meant for the poor, are a cut above a regular cafeteria food; they have a health food orientation.
Carnegie Centre provides these quality subsidized meals daily not only to it's own staff but to staff and managers from the surrounding poverty industry organizations on the Downtown Eastside. And they provide similar, reportedly even higher quality, subsidized meals to staff and management at the Gathering Place, which is an organization downtown just off Granville St. This City meal subsidy program provided as a staff and management perk has been going full tilt for decades. Yet it was never been part of negotiated contracts.
Dan Tetrault, Carnegie's Assistant Director, is estimated to have received a minimum of $20,000 in meal subsidies over the two decades that he's worked at Carnegie -- that's a conservative estimate, based on him eating one subsidized lunch each work day. Actually, people have seen him ordering up breakfasts, lunches, and dinners on a regular basis for years. Tetrault is a CUPE member; we know that because he stood on the picket line during the last strike demanding more money and benefits.
These big earners pay no tax when they purchase these meals from Carnegie. No HST.
For years Carnegie served a full dinner, your choice of meat or vegetarian, for $3.00 every evening at 5 o'clock, except for Saturdays when the meal was $2.00. They also served a hearty lunch: an entre and a salad for $1.75. Their salads are good, they have lots of greens in them; sometimes they have potato or beet salad as well. And they served a daily breakfast for $1.75. And for years you could get a healthy low-sugar snack for under a dollar: big date squares for eighty cents, muffins for 50 cents, fruit, yogurt, granola made in-house, etc. They don't serve junk food, except for Blue Sky cola which is a little lower in sugar than regular colas.
Last year they raised the price of all meals by 25 cents at Carnegie. The meals at the Gathering Place have always been a little more expensive than Carnegie; an evening meal there is $3.75. They offer a similar range of healthy food as Carnegie.
A few years ago, a worker in the Carnegie cafeteria told me that they prepare 60 meals an evening and when they're gone, they're gone. Last year, even more of those 60 meals went to yuppies. The rock bottom prices at Carnegie were advertised in a two page spread about the Carnegie cafeteria in the Province newspaper. It was like an infomercial, emphasizing the great service this cafeteria was performing by feeding the poor. According to one regular at Carnegie, the kitchen co-ordinator, Catriona Moore, didn’t want the prices published in the Province. She was ignored. The regular noticed a rush on “yuppies” after that. “There are whole tables of them.”
Whitty avoided mentioning that she helps herself to the meals on top of her over $100,000 salary -- she used to regularly show up for the Tuesday veggie burger with a choice of green or potato salad for $1.75 -- talked to the Province reporter about the helping hand the cafeteria gives to the poor, “They come, we accept them, we feed them.” Too often she does not feed them. The poor and homeless are routinely turned away at both Carnegie and the Gathering Place. The working poor too -- people who get welfare but are allowed to earn a top up by doing odd jobs such as unloading trucks in Strathcona -- are often told the food is gone when they rush down to Carnegie after work.
A homeless guy was telling me the Sunday before last that he had arrived after 5 o’clock and the dinner at the Gathering Place was sold out. He had been looking forward to the pork dinner “with those little potatoes”. I asked him if the staff got their plates, and he said they had.
It's time for a two-tiered payment system at Carnegie and the Gathering Place. People who aren't poor can pay double for a meal. They will still be getting a bargain. Try getting the hearty Carnegie lunch at a restaurant downtown for less than $10. If unionized workers and management in the poverty industry paid more, they could help finance that cafeteria.
A two-tiered payment system would also ensure that the City is not draining customers from private sector restaurants in the City. Waves coffee shop next door to Carnegie looks like it's going bankrupt. It's close to empty much of the time. They've shrunk their hours. At Waves, they charge $7 for a burrito or wrap, before tax. And you don’t get a salad with it. Waves also competes with the Carnegie coffee shop which sells fresh ground coffee for 60 cents per take-out cup.
Carnegie could model on Quest Food store for the poor just up the street on Hastings, which requires proof that you are poor. They make that proof easy to get. They accept a form letter signed by any staffer at a Welfare office confirming that you qualify for food assistance -- these forms are apparently available from any front desk receptionist. Quest will also accept a letter from other organizations that cater to poor people. They will even take a letter from a Minister. When you give them your letter, they give you a card that you are expected to show each time you shop. That system hasn’t stopped a couple of Carnegie workers, a security guard and a former teacher, from relentlessly sneaking in there for the rock bottom prices. But overall the system seems to work; everybody I know who shops there is dirt poor.
Carnegie wouldn’t have to hire extra staff to issue these cards. They already have front desk staff who give out membership cards as part of their job description. They indicate on your membership card whether you are a Senior qualifying for extra services -- I think they put a stamp on the cards of Seniors -- so they could put a stamp on the cards of people who qualify for subsidized meals. Or give them a card in a different colour. On the "bare bones" City budget, incidentally, these front desk workers were built a brand new desk with a tall back, like a throne, after we referred on this blog to the “surfer boy” who sits at the front desk looking at the web. It was built at a time when the City claimed to be looking for efficiencies to save money.
When Mayor Robertson commented today about the City of Vancouver operating on a "bare bones” budget, he was responding to BC Conservative leader John Cummins’ statement that the new gas tax could be avoided if municipalities cut 5% off their budgets and allocated that money to the Evergreen Line. Robertson called Cummins “ignorant”. But what Cummins said is not far removed from what the homeless man who missed out on the pork said: the City throws money at Carnegie Centre and the Gathering Place and they don’t seem interested in the fact that staff inside are helping themselves.
Trees at Carnegie Dying under "Green" Vision Council
Under "Green" Vision Council, the life is being choked out of trees on the outdoor patio at Carnegie Centre at Main & Hastings.
The patio trees are surrounded by steel grates which they have outgrown. The grates are now sticking into the tree trunks, choking the trees. One guy, a nature lover, smoking on the patio a couple of weeks ago, said he complained to Carnegie Director Ethel Whitty about the fact that the trees were being choked and those grates had to be adjusted. Nothing was done.
Mayor Robertson and the Vision/COPE Council have kept Whitty, in a job that pays over $100,000 even though she has consistently failed to address issues raised by Downtown Eastsiders. She gets millions of dollars a year to run Carnegie and she can't manage to loosen the grates around the outdoor trees.
Meanwhile, the City is fining health food millionaire businessman, Aaron Stevens, for cutting trees in his backyard. Many of those trees amounted to dead brush in the backyard of a property that the previous owner had left unattended for years.
The patio trees are surrounded by steel grates which they have outgrown. The grates are now sticking into the tree trunks, choking the trees. One guy, a nature lover, smoking on the patio a couple of weeks ago, said he complained to Carnegie Director Ethel Whitty about the fact that the trees were being choked and those grates had to be adjusted. Nothing was done.
Mayor Robertson and the Vision/COPE Council have kept Whitty, in a job that pays over $100,000 even though she has consistently failed to address issues raised by Downtown Eastsiders. She gets millions of dollars a year to run Carnegie and she can't manage to loosen the grates around the outdoor trees.
Meanwhile, the City is fining health food millionaire businessman, Aaron Stevens, for cutting trees in his backyard. Many of those trees amounted to dead brush in the backyard of a property that the previous owner had left unattended for years.
I wish NPA Candidate Mike Klassen would answer questions.
I always enjoyed reading Mike Klassen's blog, City Caucus. Sometimes it was funny. I never forgot the picture he ran of Mayor Robertson hiding under a desk. But now that Klassan is running for City Council under the NPA banner, I wish he would answer questions.
I heard CKNW's Mike Smythe interview Klassan today for the second time, and both times he avoided answering questions. Today Klassan criticized Mayor Robertson for "talking out of both sides of his mouth". Klassan took the position that while Robertson was an MLA, he was a crusader for Cambie St. business owners who lost revenue when rapid transit was under construction on their door steps, but in his current role as mayor, Robertson doesn't seem to be too concerned about the Hornby St. business owners who lost over $2 million in revenue when a bike lane was rammed through. Smythe asked Klassan if he would compensate those business owners. Klassan wouldn't say yes or no.
In a previous interview with Smythe, Klassan was criticizing Mayor Robertson over the Hornby St. bike lane. Smythe asked him if he would get rid of the lane. Klassan wouldn't say yes or no.
If Rob Ford were running in Vancouver, he would have a straight answer for both those questions.
I heard CKNW's Mike Smythe interview Klassan today for the second time, and both times he avoided answering questions. Today Klassan criticized Mayor Robertson for "talking out of both sides of his mouth". Klassan took the position that while Robertson was an MLA, he was a crusader for Cambie St. business owners who lost revenue when rapid transit was under construction on their door steps, but in his current role as mayor, Robertson doesn't seem to be too concerned about the Hornby St. business owners who lost over $2 million in revenue when a bike lane was rammed through. Smythe asked Klassan if he would compensate those business owners. Klassan wouldn't say yes or no.
In a previous interview with Smythe, Klassan was criticizing Mayor Robertson over the Hornby St. bike lane. Smythe asked him if he would get rid of the lane. Klassan wouldn't say yes or no.
If Rob Ford were running in Vancouver, he would have a straight answer for both those questions.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Gathering Place: Are staff being hired based on sexual orientation?
Are staff at the Gathering Place being hired based on sexual orientation rather than on their ability to do the job?
I have never set foot in the Gathering Place, a centre downtown which was modelled on Carnegie Centre, and set up by a former Carnegie Director, Diane Mckenzie. It has more young people amongst its clientele than Carnegie though. And it caters to many homeless and street people, a population that is predominantly male.
One would think that a primary criterion for getting hired at GP would be to have a comfort level with the clientele. But men who use the Centre are resentful about the contempt they're encountering there. One man who regularly goes to GP was telling me about a lesbian staffer. "She says "womyn" not "women", and when I talk to her she won't look me in the eye. She doesn't want to look me in the eye because I'm a man".
Another man who uses the GP says that a butch lesbian who works there is gruff and hardened in the way she speaks to people when she's clearing out the dining area. Like she thinks that getting paid over $20 hr. to work with the poor, is a license to treat them with disrespect. These complaints aren't coming from women, all are from men.
These guys don't sit around gay bashing. They don't care if a gay or lesbian gets hired, as long as they're qualified. But they believe that the over representation of gays and lesbians on staff at GP is an indication that somebody is getting their friends hired. They listed off all of the employees who were lesbian or gay. One guy explained that to get a job with a City of Vancouver, people used to say that you had to have a relative working there. Now it seems as if your sexual orientation can get your foot in the door. (Having a relative can still help though. Skip Everall at Carnegie reportedly hired his son to work under him.)
Hiring based on sexual orientation rather than merit damaged Ray Cam Community Centre when it opened it's doors years ago to cater to the youth in the social housing next door, a real ghetto. The staff was predominantly white lesbians, most of whom had terrible people skills. They were supposed to be offering role modelling to the youth, many of whom were native, hispanic, and black males. A few years later, I ran into a guy who used to lift weights there and he told me how great it was at Ray Cam now and I should drop by. I told him that I had long ago stopped going there because the lesbians treated me like I was subhuman. He knew instantly what I was talking about and said, "Oh, they got rid of that group".
I'm wondering if the City has shifted it's old Ray Cam hiring practices to the GP. These practices are one step removed from a casting couch.
One thing that all the men sitting talking to me about GP agreed on was that, "The staff there have eeeeeasy jobs." One guy qualified that assessment by noting that the woman who works in the laundry does work for her pay. Anyone can take their laundry there and get it done for free.
One thing I noticed when sitting with these guys is that they feel the same powerlessness at GP as people at Carnegie Centre. They knew that taking any kind of stand in the face of staff mistreatment would get them nowhere because CUPE -- Cover Up for Poor Employees -- would cover asses. And these guys don't read blogs.
I have never set foot in the Gathering Place, a centre downtown which was modelled on Carnegie Centre, and set up by a former Carnegie Director, Diane Mckenzie. It has more young people amongst its clientele than Carnegie though. And it caters to many homeless and street people, a population that is predominantly male.
One would think that a primary criterion for getting hired at GP would be to have a comfort level with the clientele. But men who use the Centre are resentful about the contempt they're encountering there. One man who regularly goes to GP was telling me about a lesbian staffer. "She says "womyn" not "women", and when I talk to her she won't look me in the eye. She doesn't want to look me in the eye because I'm a man".
Another man who uses the GP says that a butch lesbian who works there is gruff and hardened in the way she speaks to people when she's clearing out the dining area. Like she thinks that getting paid over $20 hr. to work with the poor, is a license to treat them with disrespect. These complaints aren't coming from women, all are from men.
These guys don't sit around gay bashing. They don't care if a gay or lesbian gets hired, as long as they're qualified. But they believe that the over representation of gays and lesbians on staff at GP is an indication that somebody is getting their friends hired. They listed off all of the employees who were lesbian or gay. One guy explained that to get a job with a City of Vancouver, people used to say that you had to have a relative working there. Now it seems as if your sexual orientation can get your foot in the door. (Having a relative can still help though. Skip Everall at Carnegie reportedly hired his son to work under him.)
Hiring based on sexual orientation rather than merit damaged Ray Cam Community Centre when it opened it's doors years ago to cater to the youth in the social housing next door, a real ghetto. The staff was predominantly white lesbians, most of whom had terrible people skills. They were supposed to be offering role modelling to the youth, many of whom were native, hispanic, and black males. A few years later, I ran into a guy who used to lift weights there and he told me how great it was at Ray Cam now and I should drop by. I told him that I had long ago stopped going there because the lesbians treated me like I was subhuman. He knew instantly what I was talking about and said, "Oh, they got rid of that group".
I'm wondering if the City has shifted it's old Ray Cam hiring practices to the GP. These practices are one step removed from a casting couch.
One thing that all the men sitting talking to me about GP agreed on was that, "The staff there have eeeeeasy jobs." One guy qualified that assessment by noting that the woman who works in the laundry does work for her pay. Anyone can take their laundry there and get it done for free.
One thing I noticed when sitting with these guys is that they feel the same powerlessness at GP as people at Carnegie Centre. They knew that taking any kind of stand in the face of staff mistreatment would get them nowhere because CUPE -- Cover Up for Poor Employees -- would cover asses. And these guys don't read blogs.
Pivot Loses File of Downtown Eastside Man Allegedly Assaulted by Concord Security Guards
Doug King, a Pivot lawyer, has just announced that he is representing three low income men suing Fusion Security for allegedly brutally attacking them at Harbour Centre mall. Security guards allegedly took the men to an area with no security cameras and beat them
.
Hopefully Pivot can keep track of the file.
Pivot lost the file of "J", a Downtown Eastsider who they were representing in a law suit against Concord security guards at Metrotown Mall. "J." was brutally assaulted by the guards. He had been out in Surrey working casual on the night shift in a warehouse -- topping up his welfare; he's allowed to legally earn $500. When he got off in the morning, he went for a couple of beer with a co-worker and then went to the company office at Metrotown mall to pick up his cheque. He made the mistake of chatting to a security guard who may have smelled the beer on his breath. The guard told him to leave the premises, which "J." did. J walked quite a distance to a small park, thinking he was off the premises, only to hear a guard order another guard to jump him. J's nose and teeth were broken and he had a long scab down the front of his nose. He now wears dentures. There were credible witnesses to the assault, people who had been walking by and yelled at the guard to stop. An ambulance came but J. didn't use it.
King took the case. He told J. he was optimistic about getting a settlement.
When J.A. phoned King for an update, he said the security firm was not being cooperative. But Pivot had the police report and the witness statements. King later announced that he was leaving the country for a year and he would pass the file on to another lawyer at Pivot. The woman who was supposed to inherit the file at Pivot then told "J" that the file had been lost.
"J" phoned back several times to get an update but didn't get a response.
Where did all of this confidential personal information -- forms had been filled out at Pivot -- about "J"end up? Did somebody leave it on lunch counter at Waves? The statute of limitations on the case has now expired.
On their website, Pivot states that in talking to Downtown Eastside residents, "[W]e’ve heard a lot of stories about harassment and abuse by private security guards, and after hearing several similar stories about negative interactions between private security guards at Harbour Centre from both mall employees and low-income people, we knew we needed to take action on this case."
Myself and other contributors to this site support Pivot's decision to sue Fusion. But the same stories abound about public security guards at Carnegie and other organizations on the Downtown Eastside. Pivot doesn't even mention them. It's almost as if public sector unions pay protection money so that Pivot will look the other way. I wonder how much Pivot gets in donations from unions.
I wonder if Fusion could add to their defense the fact that Pivot is advertising for residents to bring them cases about private security guards, and demonstrating blatant bias by giving a wink 'n a nod to abuses by public security guards in the same neighbourhood. Pivot activist-lawyers put up posters throughout the Downtown Eastside, even on the walls of Carnegie Centre just feet from where public security guards routinely verbally or physically abuse the poor, encouraging people to give them cases against private security guards. ["J" never reads posters; he has complained in the past about missing events because he never reads posters.] Maybe Fusion will have the money to expose Pivot biases because Downtown Eastsiders don't.
.
Hopefully Pivot can keep track of the file.
Pivot lost the file of "J", a Downtown Eastsider who they were representing in a law suit against Concord security guards at Metrotown Mall. "J." was brutally assaulted by the guards. He had been out in Surrey working casual on the night shift in a warehouse -- topping up his welfare; he's allowed to legally earn $500. When he got off in the morning, he went for a couple of beer with a co-worker and then went to the company office at Metrotown mall to pick up his cheque. He made the mistake of chatting to a security guard who may have smelled the beer on his breath. The guard told him to leave the premises, which "J." did. J walked quite a distance to a small park, thinking he was off the premises, only to hear a guard order another guard to jump him. J's nose and teeth were broken and he had a long scab down the front of his nose. He now wears dentures. There were credible witnesses to the assault, people who had been walking by and yelled at the guard to stop. An ambulance came but J. didn't use it.
King took the case. He told J. he was optimistic about getting a settlement.
When J.A. phoned King for an update, he said the security firm was not being cooperative. But Pivot had the police report and the witness statements. King later announced that he was leaving the country for a year and he would pass the file on to another lawyer at Pivot. The woman who was supposed to inherit the file at Pivot then told "J" that the file had been lost.
"J" phoned back several times to get an update but didn't get a response.
Where did all of this confidential personal information -- forms had been filled out at Pivot -- about "J"end up? Did somebody leave it on lunch counter at Waves? The statute of limitations on the case has now expired.
On their website, Pivot states that in talking to Downtown Eastside residents, "[W]e’ve heard a lot of stories about harassment and abuse by private security guards, and after hearing several similar stories about negative interactions between private security guards at Harbour Centre from both mall employees and low-income people, we knew we needed to take action on this case."
Myself and other contributors to this site support Pivot's decision to sue Fusion. But the same stories abound about public security guards at Carnegie and other organizations on the Downtown Eastside. Pivot doesn't even mention them. It's almost as if public sector unions pay protection money so that Pivot will look the other way. I wonder how much Pivot gets in donations from unions.
I wonder if Fusion could add to their defense the fact that Pivot is advertising for residents to bring them cases about private security guards, and demonstrating blatant bias by giving a wink 'n a nod to abuses by public security guards in the same neighbourhood. Pivot activist-lawyers put up posters throughout the Downtown Eastside, even on the walls of Carnegie Centre just feet from where public security guards routinely verbally or physically abuse the poor, encouraging people to give them cases against private security guards. ["J" never reads posters; he has complained in the past about missing events because he never reads posters.] Maybe Fusion will have the money to expose Pivot biases because Downtown Eastsiders don't.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Cop with Dog Orders 20 Teenagers to the Ground
On the grassy edge of the parking lot at Terminal and Main, there is shrine by a tree to Chris Poeng, the 13 year old boy who was stabbed in that parking lot a few years ago, and died just hours later in hospital. The teens who knew him haven't forgotten him. They return every May on the anniversary of his death, and again in June when school is out.
They leave flowers and other things around a tree that has a white heart painted on it. Recently they left a basketball.
School has once again gotten out and the teens were there on Monday night. There seemed to be two groups of them. All Asian. There was friction. Some girls started yelling. A police officer pulled up with a dog. He ordered all the teens on the ground. Some started taking off but he told them to stop or he would get the dog after them.
The cop single-handedly managed to bring about 20 teens to their knees.
One witness thought he saw a few of the teens toss things away when the cop arrived. The cop had a flashlight and was searching the ground for something, maybe a weapon.
I don't want to make these teens sound bad. Most of them seem to be regular teenagers who cared about Poeng.
The police know who stabbed Poeng. It was a teenage boy but there wasn't enough evidence to lay charges. A VPD investigator later told the media that the investigation was hindered by social media savy teens who communicated with one another.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Dal Richards and the Murderous Muriel Honey
If your wife continued gasing people after one person had suffered gas poisoning, would you continue to find her attractive?
That's a question for Dal Richards. Richards is a Vancouver musician married to Muriel Honey, director of the Film Office at the City of Vancouver. For ten years Downtown Eastsiders have asked Honey to stop gasing people.
For ten years, Honey has allowed film companies to park generators in the worst possible place: on the sidewalk in front of street level apartment windows on the Downtown Eastside. The tenants do not have windows on the sides or rear of their apartments, just front windows where oxygen has to compete with carbon monoxide gas pouring in. A senior member of the Fire Dept. took the position that parking generators outside these windows and allowing them to run all day is dangerous.
Honey is aware that one person has already suffered carbon monoxide poisoning; she eventually wrote the victim a letter saying that the City did not intend to upset anyone.
She kept the gas flowing.
A few hours ago, a tenant got nauseous from multiple generators parked outside street level apartment windows by a film company.
Richards benefits from the over $100,000 salary that Honey takes from taxpayers as she places lives at risk by recklessly gasing people. Richards posed for a photo when a local magazine ran a feature article on the swank loft he shares with Honey ...not far from where she is allowing people to be poisoned. It's time he stopped benefiting even peripherally from her salary.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Cops deserve credit for Restraint shown at Riot
For as long as I can remember, police have been criticized for clobbering people with billy clubs. Last week's riot showed that they are listening. I recall in the 1994 riot, innocent people were seriously injured by police brutality.
Obviously the VPD were under instructions last week to put human life first, before property.
If the Mayor, Police Chief, and City Manager had made adequate preparations for such a large crowd, much of the property damage could have been avoided too.
City Hall and the Premier have been putting enormous emphasis on charging the young people who caused the damage. I don't have a problem with charging them, but I have a problem with using teenagers to deflect attention from the negligence of those in leadership roles.
I'm realizing as most people do as they get older that there are no grown ups.
Obviously the VPD were under instructions last week to put human life first, before property.
If the Mayor, Police Chief, and City Manager had made adequate preparations for such a large crowd, much of the property damage could have been avoided too.
City Hall and the Premier have been putting enormous emphasis on charging the young people who caused the damage. I don't have a problem with charging them, but I have a problem with using teenagers to deflect attention from the negligence of those in leadership roles.
I'm realizing as most people do as they get older that there are no grown ups.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Riot: City Manager admitted today that she Never Read Recommendations to Avoid Violence -- and Downtown Eastsiders know it's not her first time
Penny Ballem admitted to the media this morning that she had never read the Report on the 1994 Riot containing recommendations on what to do differently to avoid future violence. This is the City manager who is notorious for micromanaging at City Hall, and once defended this management style to the media. "That's why they pay me the big bucks."
This is not the first time Ballem has ignored a report containing recommendations on how to avoid future harm to citizens.
At a meeting in January 2010 at City Hall about the epidemic of security guard violence and barrings of people from Carnegie Community Centre and library for speaking up, Ballem promised -- PROMISED repeatedly -- that she would read a report written a decade earlier containing recommendations for changes to the barring policy. That report had been written after consultations with Carnegie members.
Ballem broke her promise.
There has been no sign that Ballem ever read the report. There has been no sign that any recommendations were implemented. There has been no sign of follow up after the meeting by Ballem or her subordinate Brenda Procton. A woman who attended the meeting with Ballem told me she never received a phone call or an email or a letter, nothing. Ballem stuck her head in the sand and allowed the violence by Carnegie security guards to escalate until a victim of subsequent violence called police.
A host on CKNW radio expressed outrage today that Ballem had not read the recommendations in the riot report. Downtown Eastsiders have seen it all before.
This is not the first time Ballem has ignored a report containing recommendations on how to avoid future harm to citizens.
At a meeting in January 2010 at City Hall about the epidemic of security guard violence and barrings of people from Carnegie Community Centre and library for speaking up, Ballem promised -- PROMISED repeatedly -- that she would read a report written a decade earlier containing recommendations for changes to the barring policy. That report had been written after consultations with Carnegie members.
Ballem broke her promise.
There has been no sign that Ballem ever read the report. There has been no sign that any recommendations were implemented. There has been no sign of follow up after the meeting by Ballem or her subordinate Brenda Procton. A woman who attended the meeting with Ballem told me she never received a phone call or an email or a letter, nothing. Ballem stuck her head in the sand and allowed the violence by Carnegie security guards to escalate until a victim of subsequent violence called police.
A host on CKNW radio expressed outrage today that Ballem had not read the recommendations in the riot report. Downtown Eastsiders have seen it all before.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Bicylist Collides with Car in Dunsmuir Bike Lane
At about 5 p.m. Friday, a bicyclist collided with an SUV in the Dunsmuir St. bike lane. An SUV was driving on Dunsmuir and turned left onto Homer, headed toward Pender St. A homeless man heard a thud. The bicyclist had crashed right into the SUV.
The Chinese guy driving the SUV stopped. The bicyclist managed to get up.
The witness couldn't stop because he was rushing to the Gathering Place for dinner; when you're homeless you have to stay focused on finding cheap or free dinners. The witness assumed the driver couldn't see the cyclist and thought the accident was the cyclist's fault. "He should have been looking", the homeless man said. "Those bike lanes are dangerous."
The Chinese guy driving the SUV stopped. The bicyclist managed to get up.
The witness couldn't stop because he was rushing to the Gathering Place for dinner; when you're homeless you have to stay focused on finding cheap or free dinners. The witness assumed the driver couldn't see the cyclist and thought the accident was the cyclist's fault. "He should have been looking", the homeless man said. "Those bike lanes are dangerous."
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Mayor Robertson who interfered in a requested criminal investigation into evidence of his own links to violence, now promises perpetrators of Stanley Cup violence will be held accountable
After Wednesday night's Stanley Cup game riot, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson said the perpetrators of violence will be held accountable. Interesting, when he was facing investigation for his own links to violence against a female critic at Carnegie Centre, there is evidence that he got busy witness-tampering and paying off police chief Jim Chu. Following is a reprint of an April article about Mayor Robertson's record.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Mayor Robertson Accused of Pay Off to Police Chief Jim Chu who was supposed to be Criminally Investigating him
This is something you might expect in the Chicago political establishment. Mayor Gregor Robertson is accused of giving a payoff to Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu, while Chu was continuing to evade a request for a criminal investigation into evidence of criminal activity on the part of Robertson. At the very least, Robertson 'rewarded' Chu with a five year contract extension worth over one and a half million dollars for a job well done during the period in which he was stalling on investigating Robertson.
In May 2010 a request was made to VPD Chief Chu to arrange for an external police force to investigate evidence that Robertson, City manager Penny Ballem, and two security guards at Carnegie Centre were involved in the manufacture of a fraudulent security report and a pre-meditated plan to bar a Carnegie member under fraudulent pretenses, a barring which involved assault and extensive public humiliation. One of the guards involved, who the victim had never seen before but who had clearly been incited to target her, implicated Robertson and Ballem in comments he made at the time.
For some time, evidence has been reported on this blog of efforts by City staff to "bar" people from Carnegie who have complained of abuse, particularly those who have made their experiences public by talking to bloggers. We have reported that these barrings often involve public humiliation as well. When we reported this targeting of individuals who take their stories to the media, we could not have anticipated that evidence would eventually surface that Vision Vancouver has a "media hit list" along with a plan to ridicule people creating negative impressions of Vision in the media. Former 24 Hours columnist Alex Tsakumis broke the story. Mike Magee in the Mayor's office has denied the existence of any such hit list.
Despite the request being made in May that Chu arrange for an external police force to investigate Robertson -- Chu can't investigate because of conflict of interest due to Robertson's role as Chair of the Police Board -- Ballem, and two Carnegie security guards, the investigation has not yet been carried out. There is no doubt that Robertson knew that the investigation had been requested. Immediately after the request was made in May, Robertson reportedly held a secret meeting at Carnegie with witnesses and offenders. He interfered in a pending police investigation into himself.
By September, Chief Chu was continuing to stall in arranging for an investigation into his boss, Robertson. It was in the midst of this stalling that Robertson gave Chu a five year extension to his contract, at over $300,000. Now, seven months later, the case against Robertson and Ballem has still not been investigated. Are you surprised?
It is easy for Chu to treat Downtown Eastside women as though violence against them doesn't matter, because he knows they can't afford lawyers. Now a lawyer has offered to meet pro bono with the victim in this case to discuss how to proceed. He will review the evidence in the case, including a photo of the bruise the victim received. But that won't occur until the beginning of July when the lawyer returns to Vancouver from China.
Watching Chief Chu "on the take", benefiting from monetary and other rewards from a man into whom he is supposed to be arranging a criminal investigation, has led to distrust on the part of the victim. Even if Chief Chu was to suddenly meet his professional obligation to arrange for the investigation, she will be having no further contact with the VPD about this case without a lawyer present. Since not much happens over the summer, estimates are that there will be no progress on this case until September or October. A press conference will be held by the lawyer to update the public when a decision is made about how to proceed. (No further information will be released until that time.)
This case highlights the hypocrisy of Robertson and Chu on the issue of violence against Downtown Eastside women. Chu held a public meeting earlier this year at Carnegie to talk -- in front of media cameras of course -- about how committed he is to ensuring that violence against Downtown Eastside women is seriously investigated. To get into that meeting in the Carnegie theater, Chu had to walk by security guards at Carnegie that he was supposed to be investigating.
Chu would no doubt say he didn't take a pay off from Robertson, that he was due for a contract extension. But Robertson had an obligation to at least recuse himself from the decision. And Chu should have at least asked him to. An extension requires a performance review. How did Robertson manage to conclude that the Chief is doing a fine job when he knows the Chief is sitting on evidence of criminal activity against him.
Also at fault here are Police Board members. Why did Glenn Wong tell the media that he agreed with Robertson and other Police Board members that Chu was doing a fine job and deserved an extension of his contract. Did it ever occur to Wong, who told the media that Chu often calls him at home to talk, to ask Chu to avoid taking any form of reward from a government official he was supposed to be investigating. If Wong claims he didn't know about the investigation requested into Robertson, then he didn't do due diligence before approving Chu's contract extension, as the requested criminal investigation was a matter of public record.
Allan Garr, a columnist with the Courier newspaper, said in a column earlier this year that the Vancouver Police Board tends not to provide effective oversight of Chief Chu and his officers. Garr said the Police Board are more "lapdogs" than watchdogs.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Ethel Whitty "never around" say Carnegie members, despite her pay cheque of well over $100,000 annually
Where is Ethel Whitty?
It's been a long time since I've seen her at Carnegie. A woman who goes to Carnegie almost daily commented the other day, "She's never around. She's never there." She doesn't remember the last time she saw Whitty. I've heard both women and men express amazement at how invisible Whitty is at Carnegie.
Another woman who generally doesn't criticize Whitty, said that she needed a letter from Whitty recently, and went to her office only to be told by staff that she wasn't there and they had no idea when she would show up again. It was an emergency situation, but the woman was left dangling. This woman is not the only member who has reported the problem of staff having no idea when Whitty would return.
Whitty is supposed to be available to the people at Carnegie Centre, one woman explained. "She's not management." That surprised me as I thought that as director, she would be considered management. David McLellan is General Manager of Community Services and he has to start taking more of an interest in why Carnegie members rarely see Whitty around. Whitty is paid well over $100,000 to be at Carnegie. If Whitty is not in her office, she has an obligation to ensure that her staff know when she will return. These unexplained disappearances have gone on for far too long.
From the day Whitty got the job at Carnegie, she has been accused of hiding in her office. The word, "hiding" has been used more than once. But the problem seems to have gone beyond hiding now.
When Whitty is seen by Carnegie members, her attitude is different. One woman said Whitty "is like a Nazi in meetings now." The word "Nazi" gets tossed around too loosely to mean much, so I asked that the woman be more specific. She said Whitty gives orders about what she wants done when she's in meetings; it's an ordering style that she didn't have when she first arrived at Carnegie. This style has been noticed, for example, in meetings with poverty activists.
The taxpayin' truth is that either Whitty's job or that of her assistant, CUPE member Dan Tetrault, could easily be eliminated without any effect on services at Carnegie. Easily. McLellan knows that. And so does Mayor Gregor Robertson. But they won't cut either one of these jobs because Carnegie is COPE territory and VISION Mayor Gregor has made a deal with COPE to work together to keep the centre-right from getting elected. COPE councillors like Ellen Woodsworth and David Cadman would make a fuss if Mayor Gregor deprived their loyal womyn and feminized males on the left of their sinecures.
It's been a long time since I've seen her at Carnegie. A woman who goes to Carnegie almost daily commented the other day, "She's never around. She's never there." She doesn't remember the last time she saw Whitty. I've heard both women and men express amazement at how invisible Whitty is at Carnegie.
Another woman who generally doesn't criticize Whitty, said that she needed a letter from Whitty recently, and went to her office only to be told by staff that she wasn't there and they had no idea when she would show up again. It was an emergency situation, but the woman was left dangling. This woman is not the only member who has reported the problem of staff having no idea when Whitty would return.
Whitty is supposed to be available to the people at Carnegie Centre, one woman explained. "She's not management." That surprised me as I thought that as director, she would be considered management. David McLellan is General Manager of Community Services and he has to start taking more of an interest in why Carnegie members rarely see Whitty around. Whitty is paid well over $100,000 to be at Carnegie. If Whitty is not in her office, she has an obligation to ensure that her staff know when she will return. These unexplained disappearances have gone on for far too long.
From the day Whitty got the job at Carnegie, she has been accused of hiding in her office. The word, "hiding" has been used more than once. But the problem seems to have gone beyond hiding now.
When Whitty is seen by Carnegie members, her attitude is different. One woman said Whitty "is like a Nazi in meetings now." The word "Nazi" gets tossed around too loosely to mean much, so I asked that the woman be more specific. She said Whitty gives orders about what she wants done when she's in meetings; it's an ordering style that she didn't have when she first arrived at Carnegie. This style has been noticed, for example, in meetings with poverty activists.
The taxpayin' truth is that either Whitty's job or that of her assistant, CUPE member Dan Tetrault, could easily be eliminated without any effect on services at Carnegie. Easily. McLellan knows that. And so does Mayor Gregor Robertson. But they won't cut either one of these jobs because Carnegie is COPE territory and VISION Mayor Gregor has made a deal with COPE to work together to keep the centre-right from getting elected. COPE councillors like Ellen Woodsworth and David Cadman would make a fuss if Mayor Gregor deprived their loyal womyn and feminized males on the left of their sinecures.
Unfair NHL Referees throughout Series Contributed to Riot in Vancouver
A native guy in his sixties came into McDonald's restaurant at Main & Terminal at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, where people were sitting on the stools in front of the big screen televisions waiting for Stanley Cup Game 7 to begin. As he grabbed the last available stool, he told us, "The word is that if the officiating is unfair again tonight, people are going to riot. That's the word." He said it twice. The Downtown Eastside is different than other neighbourhoods: people have more time than in other neighbourhoods and talk to one another on the street, they stand on street corners and talk.
I've been enjoying watching the games with this guy at Mcdonalds, because he knows hockey like nobody else I know. He grew up in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan -- 100 miles north of Saskatoon -- where people are immersed in hockey. He told me it's common for kids there to play on two hockey teams, one at school and one outside school.
I knew what he meant about the officiating being unfair in the Boston vs. Vancouver playoffs. I've noticed a bias. Even a sports reporter from Boston noted that the officiating "has favored Boston" in the finals, when he was interviewed on Tuesday by a Vancouver radio station. I won't repeat all the examples that have been discussed on Canuck-obsessed talk radio, but when you see a penalty given for a shove at one end of the rink and five punches to Sedin's head going unnoticed at the other end of the rink, something is not right.
At the end of the first period, when the score was 1-0, the native guy turned to me and said he thought the Canucks could come back. Early in the period, the players knew where one another was, "but by the end they seemed to be looking for each other." He thought they would come out in the second period and function more as a team again.
When the Canucks lost, he said, "I'm gonna feel bad now for two or three days." Then tears welled up in his eyes.
The Canucks may have let their Stanley Cup chance slip away even if the refs hadn't been handicapping them throughout the series. Luongo after all should have stopped at least a couple of tonight's goals. Tim Thomas was a stellar performer. The Bruins were the better team tonight.
I've talked to several devoted hockey fans now about Brian Tuohy's book, "The Fix is In", about fixing in the NHL and other sports, and they have all said they believe it's going on. On Tuohy's website, he publishes a quote Patrick Hruby on ESPN.com about his book, "Tuohy makes a compelling, fact-based argument that not everything in the sports world is as it seems." Rick, a homeless tennis player and avid recycler who is mad about hockey, told me after Monday night's game that he has no doubt there is fixing going on in hockey.
The native guy had the same response when I asked him tonight. He pointed out that allegations of betting on hockey against Wayne Gretzky's wife and assistant coach, although no charges were laid, did nothing to inspire confidence in the integrity of the NHL. "Do you notice they don't have him on [tv] talking about the game anymore? They don't want nothin' to do with him. He's tainted."
The mainstream media generally avoids discussion of suspicions of fixing. A couple of weeks ago, CKNW's Bruce Allen, who has crafted an image as a straight talker, was guest-hosting a talk show and instantly hung up on a caller who said of the playoffs: "It's fixed."
Canucks' GM, Mike Gillis, did hint at it in a press conference in April as the Canucks battled the Chicago Blackhawks. He pointed out that in the previous four games, Chicago had 69% more power plays than Vancouver. In the previous four games when the score had been tight, a one or two goal difference, Chicago had 100% more power plays than Vancouver. As Gillis read a list of statistics to support his claim that there has been nowhere near "a level playing field", I suspected, "The Fix Is In".
Gillis suggested this week that he has been muzzled. At a press conference, when asked about the fact that there had been no penalty for Boston for the hit that broke the back of Canuck Mason Raymond, he said, 'I can't talk about. I'll get in trouble.'
Tonight, after the Canuck's final 4-0 loss to Boston, when the first car in downtown Vancouver was turned over and burned, many of the people rocking that car until it turned over were wearing Canucks jerseys. Although some of the rioting and looting was started by a small group of people wearing black balaclavas, fans in Canucks jerseys were quick to join them and were clearly enjoying the emotional release. They were not all youths either.
Everybody involved "will be held accountable", the Mayor said. But the NHL which have pumped these fans up throughout the series and then allowed refs to cheat them? Don't expect any accountability there.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Luongo's Missing McNuggets
Staff at the Mcdonalds restaurant at Main & Terminal say Roberto Luongo, the Canucks goalie, grabs a bite to eat at their drive-thru window after games sometimes. That restaurant is also popular with Downtown Eastsiders who drop in for coffee -- and free refills.
A supervisor said they once got Luongo's order wrong and forgot his "10 mcnuggets." I don't know whether they got his order straightened out, because the supervisor wasn't talking directly to me, and it was loud in the restaurant as they now have sports blaring on the tv screens much of the time. It's become a bit like a sports bar.
Luongo, the supervisor said, drives through in either "his truck or his sports car". He comes through during the regular season but hasn't come through during the playoffs.
A young Chinese guy who works at Mcdonalds was delighted that Luongo shook his hand.
That Mcdonald's is a short distance away from the arena in downtown Vancouver where the Canucks play their home games -- so close that you can see the big yellow arches if you look across the parking lot.
Professional athletes have to be on a high quality diet. But some dietitians advise following the 80-20 rule. Eat well 80% of the time, and you can eat whatever you please the other 20% of the time. That allows for some Mcdonalds take-out to snack on while driving home after a game.
A supervisor said they once got Luongo's order wrong and forgot his "10 mcnuggets." I don't know whether they got his order straightened out, because the supervisor wasn't talking directly to me, and it was loud in the restaurant as they now have sports blaring on the tv screens much of the time. It's become a bit like a sports bar.
Luongo, the supervisor said, drives through in either "his truck or his sports car". He comes through during the regular season but hasn't come through during the playoffs.
A young Chinese guy who works at Mcdonalds was delighted that Luongo shook his hand.
That Mcdonald's is a short distance away from the arena in downtown Vancouver where the Canucks play their home games -- so close that you can see the big yellow arches if you look across the parking lot.
Professional athletes have to be on a high quality diet. But some dietitians advise following the 80-20 rule. Eat well 80% of the time, and you can eat whatever you please the other 20% of the time. That allows for some Mcdonalds take-out to snack on while driving home after a game.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Women Arrested for Scratching and Hitting Pedestrians
A twenty-something woman was drunk late Thursday afternoon and was scratching and hitting pedestrians at Main & Hastings. She was arrested on Hastings next to the Royal Bank.
At least seven uniformed police officers, two on bicycles, arrived at the scene, along with two paramedics. There was a police paddy wagon and one ambulance.
The woman arrested was native, slim, with shoulder length brown hair.
At least seven uniformed police officers, two on bicycles, arrived at the scene, along with two paramedics. There was a police paddy wagon and one ambulance.
The woman arrested was native, slim, with shoulder length brown hair.
Seventy Year Old Woman Abused at Carnegie, Security creates No Consequences
A 70 year old woman had a bottle of water thrown at her by a man as she stood waiting for the elevator at Carnegie. She said the bottle could have broken her ankle, as it landed near her foot. She reported the incident to Skip Everall, Security Co-ordinator.
Everall spoke to the man who had thrown the bottle and then dropped the entire issue. The woman was puzzled that nothing had been done. She was told by another Carnegie member that Everall has a record of not taking abuse of women seriously.
In fact, the way this case was handled is typical of the sharia law practiced at Carnegie under the the City of Vancouver. The way sharia works is that a man's testimony is given twice the weight of a woman's. And men can decide on the punishment a woman deserves, without any input from her. (Skip Everall and guard Ted Chaing, made a decision about a woman's punishment for raising the issue of sexism, without any input from her.) Physical abuse of a woman is not considered serious, although a woman failing to defer to a man is considered worthy of serious punishment.
Such sharia punishment, when imposed by the City of Vancouver, generally involves barring the woman from City services for an extended period. After she serves her sentence, she has the option of meeting with Everall, a meeting during which she must act meek and deferential, and make no mention of her rights, in order to be considered sufficiently rehabilitated to have access to services funded by her tax dollars reinstated. I'm not exaggerating. We have tapes of these 'sharia court' sessions financed by the City of Vancouver. It's an example of the social degeneration that can occur when City Hall tosses 3 million dollars a year at Carnegie staff, and essentially looks the other way, expecting little or no accountability for how patrons are treated.
I pointed out to a Carnegie member a couple of years ago that what was being practiced at Carnegie was comparable to sharia law. She then pointed this out to Carnegie Director, Ethel Whitty. Ethel "just shrugged", she says.
Everall spoke to the man who had thrown the bottle and then dropped the entire issue. The woman was puzzled that nothing had been done. She was told by another Carnegie member that Everall has a record of not taking abuse of women seriously.
In fact, the way this case was handled is typical of the sharia law practiced at Carnegie under the the City of Vancouver. The way sharia works is that a man's testimony is given twice the weight of a woman's. And men can decide on the punishment a woman deserves, without any input from her. (Skip Everall and guard Ted Chaing, made a decision about a woman's punishment for raising the issue of sexism, without any input from her.) Physical abuse of a woman is not considered serious, although a woman failing to defer to a man is considered worthy of serious punishment.
Such sharia punishment, when imposed by the City of Vancouver, generally involves barring the woman from City services for an extended period. After she serves her sentence, she has the option of meeting with Everall, a meeting during which she must act meek and deferential, and make no mention of her rights, in order to be considered sufficiently rehabilitated to have access to services funded by her tax dollars reinstated. I'm not exaggerating. We have tapes of these 'sharia court' sessions financed by the City of Vancouver. It's an example of the social degeneration that can occur when City Hall tosses 3 million dollars a year at Carnegie staff, and essentially looks the other way, expecting little or no accountability for how patrons are treated.
I pointed out to a Carnegie member a couple of years ago that what was being practiced at Carnegie was comparable to sharia law. She then pointed this out to Carnegie Director, Ethel Whitty. Ethel "just shrugged", she says.
Rigged Complaints Process at Carnegie: Woman has been Waiting almost Two Years for City staffer Dan Tetrault to Respond to Abuse Incident
There is evidence that the process for the many Carnegie members who have complaints about staff abuse is rigged. Complaints about staff abuse or other forms of misconduct are regularly sent to CUPE member Dan Tetrault. That's where the rigging is: complaints against CUPE members are sent to a CUPE member to be addressed.
It has now been almost two years, and there has been no response to a formal complaint that went to Tetrault after being lodged with Security Co-ordinator Skip Everall about Brent, a cashier who approached a woman in an aggressive manner and swore at her. She was entering the cafeteria at the time and he apparently was trying to close earlier than scheduled -- she wonders if he was sneaking out early for the long weekend -- and didn't want customers getting in the way. She was uncomfortable returning to the cafeteria due to Brent's conduct.
Everall scolded the victim for daring to speak to a security guard about Brent's behaviour -- even though members are instructed at Carnegie to report any incident to security. (Members are discouraged from handling such situations themselves. Signs of empowerment on the part of any low income person are considered punishable by barring from all City services at the Centre.)
It has now been almost two years, and there has been no response to a formal complaint that went to Tetrault after being lodged with Security Co-ordinator Skip Everall about Brent, a cashier who approached a woman in an aggressive manner and swore at her. She was entering the cafeteria at the time and he apparently was trying to close earlier than scheduled -- she wonders if he was sneaking out early for the long weekend -- and didn't want customers getting in the way. She was uncomfortable returning to the cafeteria due to Brent's conduct.
Everall scolded the victim for daring to speak to a security guard about Brent's behaviour -- even though members are instructed at Carnegie to report any incident to security. (Members are discouraged from handling such situations themselves. Signs of empowerment on the part of any low income person are considered punishable by barring from all City services at the Centre.)
After scolding the woman for daring to believe she had a right to speak to a security guard, Everall told her that complaints about staff are to be sent to Dan Tetrault. He would not allow the guard to write an Incident Report and slammed the Incident Report binder closed. Everall instructed her to submit the complaint in writing. She did so immediately and handed it directly to Everall. He said Tetrault, would respond to it. The complaint was balanced, in that the complainant pointed out that Brent had previously been polite to her. (Others at Carnegie noticed Brent had become nasty at times; they figured his probationary period was up.)
The complaint was buried.
It will be two years in July since the woman who was cussed at was told to put the complaint in writing. If the situation had been the other way around, if a woman in the Centre had cussed at a male staff person, the woman would have been instantly barred for an extended period from City of Vancouver services inside Carnegie. She would have had an Incident Report instantly written about her and entered into the City of Vancouver "Security" database where it would remain for at least two years.
David McLellan, General Manager of Community Services, who oversees Whitty and Tetrault, is ultimately responsible for ensuring that a response is given to complainants about staff. McLellan would be aware that when a written complaint is lodged, a letter acknowledging receipt is to be immediately sent to the individual. No letter was sent in this case, although there was a witness who saw her hand the written complaint to Everall.
The sham of sending individuals with complaints against Carnegie staff to Tetrault has continued for roughly 20 years. Many Carnegie members are not aware of the conflict of interest position occupied by Tetrault. They assume he's management when they take a complaint to him. They haven't seen the photo of him on the internet standing on a CUPE picket line with a placard when Carnegie staff were on strike.
Tetrault's abuse of his City powers became public when he barred the husband of a co-worker with whom he had entered a sexual relationship, denying the husband/taxpayer access to all City services at Carnegie. That barring was lifted when bloggers made it public.
But what lingers are questions about why Tetrault has been allowed to continue to abuse his City powers while in a conflict of interest position. It is not uncommon for people who have lodged complaints with Tetrault against his fellow CUPE members to find themselves the target of barrings a few months down the road. Barrings are regularly rubber-stamped by Tetrault.
Tetrault should be stepping aside when he is in a conflict of interest position. He would no doubt claim that Director Ethel Whitty is ultimately responsible for the barrings and just delegates responsibility to him. Don't believe a word of it. Barrings are regularly instigated and implemented under Tetrault's supervision, without Whitty even being on the premises.
Whitty has positioned Tetrault as the go-to guy for complaints against staff -- "talk to Dan Tetrault," members are told -- even though his conflict of interest position virtually guarantees that he will take no serious action. In most cases, complainants, both men and women, report that Tetrault did absolutely nothing. I know of no case where a member felt they got a satisfactory result. There is enormous resentment against Tetrault by members who have been brushed off over the years.
Here's what you can expect when you take a complaint to Tetrault: He will greet you in a somewhat friendly voice tone as if he were greeting a family member -- staff push the "Carnegie family" angle to discourage poor people from seeing class and power differences favouring the povertarian class. He will allow you to tell him what you experienced. When his demeanor is described to me, it never fails to bring to mind the term, "feminized male": consistently speaking in a mild one of voice, shuffling his feet a bit, looking at the floor (non-threatening male), smiling a bit because of course he's in the company of "family". He will come across as inoffensive. But you are likely to be highly offended when you discover that he has done dick about your complaint. And it is likely that you will discover that, as thousands of members before you have discovered. And you may also find staff behaviour toward you becoming hostile, once they realize that you are a complaining 'black sheep'. And if you keep returning to Tetrault's office to find out why nothing is being done, you may find that he has sailed away on his yacht to places where he can't be reached by "family" members.
This rigged complaints process where staff have one of their own deflecting complaints against them, has contributed to an environment at Carnegie which has parallels to the degeneration over the decades of Woodlands. Although the clientele are not at all similar, the abuses that continue unchecked are in some ways similar -- physical and verbal abuse and even systematic sexual exploitation. Tetrault is not solely to blame though. Whitty admitted at a Board meeting that she would defend her staff no matter what, and she has to date covered for them even when there was evidence of sexual exploitation and verbal and physical abuse.
The fact that a woman has been waiting almost two years for a complaint against Brent to be processed, is not about his cussing. It is about a rigged complaints process. When the suppression of the complaint against Brent reaches the two year mark in July, it has been suggested that Councillor Susan Anton be asked to ensure that David McLellan answer for this delay. McLellan should also explain why complaints of staff abuse or misconduct are directed to Tetrault who belongs to the same union and stands on the picket line with staff.
The sham of sending individuals with complaints against Carnegie staff to Tetrault has continued for roughly 20 years. Many Carnegie members are not aware of the conflict of interest position occupied by Tetrault. They assume he's management when they take a complaint to him. They haven't seen the photo of him on the internet standing on a CUPE picket line with a placard when Carnegie staff were on strike.
Tetrault's abuse of his City powers became public when he barred the husband of a co-worker with whom he had entered a sexual relationship, denying the husband/taxpayer access to all City services at Carnegie. That barring was lifted when bloggers made it public.
But what lingers are questions about why Tetrault has been allowed to continue to abuse his City powers while in a conflict of interest position. It is not uncommon for people who have lodged complaints with Tetrault against his fellow CUPE members to find themselves the target of barrings a few months down the road. Barrings are regularly rubber-stamped by Tetrault.
Tetrault should be stepping aside when he is in a conflict of interest position. He would no doubt claim that Director Ethel Whitty is ultimately responsible for the barrings and just delegates responsibility to him. Don't believe a word of it. Barrings are regularly instigated and implemented under Tetrault's supervision, without Whitty even being on the premises.
Whitty has positioned Tetrault as the go-to guy for complaints against staff -- "talk to Dan Tetrault," members are told -- even though his conflict of interest position virtually guarantees that he will take no serious action. In most cases, complainants, both men and women, report that Tetrault did absolutely nothing. I know of no case where a member felt they got a satisfactory result. There is enormous resentment against Tetrault by members who have been brushed off over the years.
Here's what you can expect when you take a complaint to Tetrault: He will greet you in a somewhat friendly voice tone as if he were greeting a family member -- staff push the "Carnegie family" angle to discourage poor people from seeing class and power differences favouring the povertarian class. He will allow you to tell him what you experienced. When his demeanor is described to me, it never fails to bring to mind the term, "feminized male": consistently speaking in a mild one of voice, shuffling his feet a bit, looking at the floor (non-threatening male), smiling a bit because of course he's in the company of "family". He will come across as inoffensive. But you are likely to be highly offended when you discover that he has done dick about your complaint. And it is likely that you will discover that, as thousands of members before you have discovered. And you may also find staff behaviour toward you becoming hostile, once they realize that you are a complaining 'black sheep'. And if you keep returning to Tetrault's office to find out why nothing is being done, you may find that he has sailed away on his yacht to places where he can't be reached by "family" members.
This rigged complaints process where staff have one of their own deflecting complaints against them, has contributed to an environment at Carnegie which has parallels to the degeneration over the decades of Woodlands. Although the clientele are not at all similar, the abuses that continue unchecked are in some ways similar -- physical and verbal abuse and even systematic sexual exploitation. Tetrault is not solely to blame though. Whitty admitted at a Board meeting that she would defend her staff no matter what, and she has to date covered for them even when there was evidence of sexual exploitation and verbal and physical abuse.
The fact that a woman has been waiting almost two years for a complaint against Brent to be processed, is not about his cussing. It is about a rigged complaints process. When the suppression of the complaint against Brent reaches the two year mark in July, it has been suggested that Councillor Susan Anton be asked to ensure that David McLellan answer for this delay. McLellan should also explain why complaints of staff abuse or misconduct are directed to Tetrault who belongs to the same union and stands on the picket line with staff.
Monday, June 6, 2011
I took this photo last season on Robson St. near the Central library after a Canucks game, but the date on the camera was wrong.
I hate this stuff, the hit to Bruins' forward Nathan Horton. It takes the fun out of watching a game when I know some guy is probably going to have to suffer the effects of a concussion.
Even though the NHL now has a ban on blindside hits to the head of unsuspecting players, I doubt Rome will be suspended for long.
Horton -- no relation to Tim Horton -- is from Ontario, a town called Dunnville.
UPDATE:
The NHL gave Rome a four game suspension. He's now out of the Stanley Cup finals, and so is Horton who has a severe concussion. In deciding on the length of the suspension, Mike Murphy of the NHL said they took into consideration the lateness of the hit on Horton and the severity of his injury.
The suspension is an indication that the NHL is starting to take head injuries more seriously. Even Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a big hockey fan, spoke out a few months ago about the need to curb head injuries in the NHL. Concussions can leave a person with daily headaches for years, and can make them more prone to later life brain deterioration such as dementia.
I understand the critics though who say the suspension of Rome is too severe. They argue that if the NHL was going to get tough, it is unfair to suddenly begin in the finals. Rome himself previously suffered a concussion, and there was not even a penalty.
Monday, May 2, 2011
New Face of the Polling Station
I voted on the Downtown Eastside at about 5:45 and I had to wait five minutes as there was a short line up. What struck me was the gentrification in the polling station. Several of those voting in front of me were well turned out, middle class women in their twenties or early thirties. They've probably purchased condos nearby.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Almost...not quite
A few months ago, I saw an interview with Jack Layton in which he announced, "I'm almost vegan."
On the campaign trail at Montreal's Schwartz Deli in April, he was photographed chowing down on a smoked meat sandwich.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Rainbow at Main & Terminal
On Tuesday evening I was walking by the Ivanhoe Hotel and it was raining and the sun was shining. I thought, "There's gonna be a rainbow." By the time I got to Main & Terminal, there it was.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Is the Fix In? Vancouver Canucks vs. Chicago Blackhawks
There's a book out called, "The Fix Is In: The Showbiz Manipulations of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR", by Brian Tuohy. I've heard the author interviewed a couple of times by Ian Punnit on Coast to Coast, and once on a Vancouver radio station too. He convinced me that there's fixing going on, even in the NHL.
So I didn't think it was just sour grapes when I watched GM Mike Gillis' at a press conference today, after the Vancouver Canuck's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, saying that the officiating has been highly suspect. He said the number of calls against the Canucks is making it almost impossible for the Canucks to win. Gillis said that in the last four games, Chicago has had 69% more power plays than Vancouver. In the last four games when the score has been tight, a one or two goal difference, Chicago has had 100% more power plays than Vancouver. As Gillis read a list of statistics to support his claim that there has been nowhere near "a level playing field", I suspected, "The Fix Is In".
Here's an excerpt from Gillis' statement at the press conference that I pulled from the CBC website:
"One of the most difficult things to understand is why there has been such a power play discrepancy in the series. The Chicago Blackhawks have had 11 more power plays and a penalty shot. No other series has a disparity which is even close.
"I'm not sure how you explain that discrepancy," Gillis said. "We're going to be very hard-pressed to win hockey games if through an entire series when the score is tight, they get 75 per cent more power plays than we do. That's just the reality and the facts we're facing. When you break down the [Sunday] video, there are some extraordinary plays to explain with what has gone on.
"I don't know how to explain it. I'm just giving you the facts. It's easy to stand here and be emotional and look at the hit like the Bickell one on Bieksa and jump up and down and scream and yell. These are facts. They're undeniable. People think we don't have a killer instinct. It's pretty tough to have it when you're killing penalties all the time."
I'd like Tuohy to take a look at Gillis' statistics.
Sports is a business after all and there was a powerful economic incentive to stretch the series between Vancouver and Chicago out into 7 games. The 7th game is generating massive excitement and media coverage and will attract a massive number of viewers.
So I didn't think it was just sour grapes when I watched GM Mike Gillis' at a press conference today, after the Vancouver Canuck's loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday, saying that the officiating has been highly suspect. He said the number of calls against the Canucks is making it almost impossible for the Canucks to win. Gillis said that in the last four games, Chicago has had 69% more power plays than Vancouver. In the last four games when the score has been tight, a one or two goal difference, Chicago has had 100% more power plays than Vancouver. As Gillis read a list of statistics to support his claim that there has been nowhere near "a level playing field", I suspected, "The Fix Is In".
Here's an excerpt from Gillis' statement at the press conference that I pulled from the CBC website:
"One of the most difficult things to understand is why there has been such a power play discrepancy in the series. The Chicago Blackhawks have had 11 more power plays and a penalty shot. No other series has a disparity which is even close.
"I'm not sure how you explain that discrepancy," Gillis said. "We're going to be very hard-pressed to win hockey games if through an entire series when the score is tight, they get 75 per cent more power plays than we do. That's just the reality and the facts we're facing. When you break down the [Sunday] video, there are some extraordinary plays to explain with what has gone on.
"I don't know how to explain it. I'm just giving you the facts. It's easy to stand here and be emotional and look at the hit like the Bickell one on Bieksa and jump up and down and scream and yell. These are facts. They're undeniable. People think we don't have a killer instinct. It's pretty tough to have it when you're killing penalties all the time."
I'd like Tuohy to take a look at Gillis' statistics.
Sports is a business after all and there was a powerful economic incentive to stretch the series between Vancouver and Chicago out into 7 games. The 7th game is generating massive excitement and media coverage and will attract a massive number of viewers.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Speech Police Order Comic who Insulted Lesbian to Pay $15,000, and Ban him for Life from Performing "Similar Acts" in BC
Photo: Lorna Pardy at BC Human Rights Tribunal
In March 2010, I sat through a four day hearing at the BC Human Rights Tribunal of a complaint by a lesbian that she had suffered discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation by a comic in Zesty's restaurant on Commercial Drive in Vancouver. (See coverage "Ugly Dyke" and "Dildo" Insults by Comic Leave Lesbian Attempting to Replace Human Right to Free Speech with Bogus Human Right Not to be Offended.) Last week, the BCHRT awarded Laura Pardy $22,500 in damages: the comic, Guy Earle, was ordered to pay her $15,000 and Sam Ismail, the owner of Zesty's, was ordered to pay her $7,500.
I haven't had a chance to read the judgment but I listened to Ezra Lavant interview Earle on Sun television. Lavant, who is a lawyer as well as a television talk show host, said the judgement effectively subjects Earle to a lifetime ban on performing in British Columbia by prohibiting him from committing "similar acts". Earle's stand-up comedy act is not dissimilar to the comments he hurled at the lesbians; one young comic from Zesty's testified that Earle's style is to shock people. Earle has repeatedly defended himself by pointing out that customers were forewarned that they could be offended by what they heard; he had posted a sign on the door of Zesty's that night announcing, "Triple X, the Edgiest Show in Town."
Earle says the insults he hurled at the lesbians from the stage in his role as MC of a weekly amateur comedy night at Zesty's, were simply an attempt to silence their heckling. He admits he drank too much that night. Pardy, a meteorological technician at YVR, says she had been drinking beer but was not drunk. Witnesses had vastly differing accounts of how much heckling had gone on. My sense from listening to the witnesses at the hearing was that there were insults going back and forth between Earle and at least some of the women at Pardy's table.
Zesty's was known as a lesbian-friendly establishment. A lesbian group performed there weekly. So it appeared that this was an isolated case of insults erupting late at night, when the owner wasn't around.
The coverage of the case has at times been comical. Levant pointed out that in the judgement, it was noted that hecklers had accused Earle of having a "small dick." Levant told Earle that if this accusation was true, he could lay a human rights complaint against the women for discrimination "based on disability".
The government used tax dollars to pay for two BCHRT lawyers and other staff to hold a four day hearing and produce a 100 page report in their role as the speech police. The accused got no financial assistance. Ismail said at the hearing that his business had gone downhill after the BCHRT complaint.
Earle's lawyer argued on the first day of the hearing that the BCHRT did not have jurisdiction in this case, that Earle's right to freedom of artistic expression, even offensive expression, is guaranteed by the Charter of Rights & Freedoms. Pardy's lawyer has taken the position that Earle was not actually engaged in an artistic performance at the time he insulted Pardy.
Earle says he won't pay the award to Pardy and will be taking the case to the Supreme Court. That's exactly what critics of the BCHRT want to see happen, in the hopes of putting an end to their role as censors. The BCHRT have previously attempted to punish McLeans magazine for an article they published by writer Mark Steyn, an article about how rapidly growing Muslim populations can be expected to alter western democracies (in a way that will be less welcoming to Lorna Pardy and her galpals than Zesty's.)
The problem with going to the Supreme Court is that Earle has no money and "a family to support." This case has over the past four years made him almost unemployable as a comic, as owners of establishments are afraid that if they hire him, the gay and lesbian community will organize a boycott of their businesses. "I haven't had a pot to pee in for the last four years and I'm scrapin' it", Earle says. He says he hates to ask for donations for the legal case but if you wish to help him, you can donate at his site www.guyearle.ca. And if you wish to help Sam Ismail, stop by Zawa's -- he renamed Zesty's after the human rights complaint -- for a beer and a burger.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Van Gogh at the Ivanhoe
A friend took this photo today of a painting of the Ivanhoe Hotel that hangs in the Ivanhoe Hotel. The artist's name was too smudged to read. The style reminds me of Van Gogh. When I left the Ivanhoe Hotel about 5 p.m. today with my friend and walked up Main St., an unmarked car with a red light on top stopped at the intersection at Main & Terminal. There were four stiff looking men in dark suits with gold badges, two in the front seat, two in the back. I couldn't stop staring at them, trying to figure out what kind of police they were. My friend said they looked "lifeless". Then my friend said, "Oh, it's Harper!" Stephen Harper's bus was following them, his blue bus with "Harper for Canada" written on the side.
If Harper had stopped at the Macdonald's at that intersection, he could have mingled with our burgeoning population of masked women. They remind me of bank robbers. There is a cluster of these masked people that go to that Macdonalds now, where Downtown Eastsiders regularly have coffee. I never saw any until this year. They may have gotten into social housing in the area since they turn up there semi-regularly on weekends with their kids. They even eat under their masks. I was looking at one a few weeks ago and her husband made a point of glaring at me; I thought he was going to punch me.
I would have liked Harper to stop and answer a question: Exactly how do people wearing masks pass our points system for immigration? We don't allow Klu Klux Klan followers under hooded masks into Canada because we know they hate Blacks. So why do we allow people into the country who hate women to the point where they believe they should be hidden under hooded masks.
Harper did tweak immigration policy to tie it more to the needs of Canada's labour force. South Vancouver MP, Ujal Dosanjh, said on CBC this week that if the Liberals are elected, they will reverse Harper's changes. More masks in Macdonalds.
Another thing: it seems to me that it's more often men than women who are taking stand against these masks. Like Lowell Green who wrote the book, "May Day, May Day."
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Mayor Robertson Accused of Pay Off to Police Chief Jim Chu who was Supposed to be Criminally Investigating him
This is something you might expect in the Chicago political establishment. Mayor Gregor Robertson is accused of giving a payoff to Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu, while Chu was continuing to evade a request for a criminal investigation into evidence of criminal activity on the part of Robertson. At the very least, Robertson 'rewarded' Chu with a five year contract extension worth over one and a half million dollars for a job well done during the period in which he was stalling on investigating Robertson.
In May 2010 a request was made to VPD Chief Chu to arrange for an external police force to investigate evidence that Robertson, City manager Penny Ballem, and two security guards at Carnegie Centre were involved in the manufacture of a fraudulent security report and a pre-meditated plan to bar a Carnegie member under fraudulent pretenses, a barring which involved assault and extensive public humiliation. One of the guards involved, who the victim had never seen before but who had clearly been incited to target her, implicated Robertson and Ballem in comments he made at the time.
For some time, evidence has been reported on this blog of efforts by City staff to "bar" people from Carnegie who have complained of abuse, particularly those who have made their experiences public by talking to bloggers. We have reported that these barrings often involve public humiliation as well. When we reported this targeting of individuals who take their stories to the media, we could not have anticipated that evidence would eventually surface that Vision Vancouver has a "media hit list" along with a plan to ridicule people creating negative impressions of Vision in the media. Former 24 Hours columnist Alex Tsakumis broke the story. Mike Magee in the Mayor's office has denied the existence of any such hit list.
Despite the request being made in May that Chu arrange for an external police force to investigate Robertson -- Chu can't investigate because of conflict of interest due to Robertson's role as Chair of the Police Board -- Ballem, and two Carnegie security guards, the investigation has not yet been carried out. There is no doubt that Robertson knew that the investigation had been requested. Immediately after the request was made in May, Robertson reportedly held a secret meeting at Carnegie with witnesses and offenders. He interfered in a pending police investigation into himself.
By September, Chief Chu was continuing to stall in arranging for an investigation into his boss, Robertson. It was in the midst of this stalling that Robertson gave Chu a five year extension to his contract, at over $300,000. Now, seven months later, the case against Robertson and Ballem has still not been investigated. Are you surprised?
It is easy for Chu to treat Downtown Eastside women as though violence against them doesn't matter, because he knows they can't afford lawyers. Now a lawyer has offered to meet pro bono with the victim in this case to discuss how to proceed. He will review the evidence in the case, including a photo of the bruise the victim received. But that won't occur until the beginning of July when the lawyer returns to Vancouver from China.
Watching Chief Chu "on the take", benefiting from monetary and other rewards from a man into whom he is supposed to be arranging a criminal investigation, has led to distrust on the part of the victim. Even if Chief Chu was to suddenly meet his professional obligation to arrange for the investigation, she will be having no further contact with the VPD about this case without a lawyer present. Since not much happens over the summer, estimates are that there will be no progress on this case until September or October. A press conference will be held by the lawyer to update the public when a decision is made about how to proceed. (No further information will be released until that time.)
This case highlights the hypocrisy of Robertson and Chu on the issue of violence against Downtown Eastside women. Chu held a public meeting earlier this year at Carnegie to talk -- in front of media cameras of course -- about how committed he is to ensuring that violence against Downtown Eastside women is seriously investigated. To get into that meeting in the Carnegie theater, Chu had to walk by security guards at Carnegie that he was supposed to be investigating.
Chu would no doubt say he didn't take a pay off from Robertson, that he was due for a contract extension. But Robertson had an obligation to at least recuse himself from the decision. And Chu should have at least asked him to. An extension requires a performance review. How did Robertson manage to conclude that the Chief is doing a fine job when he knows the Chief is sitting on evidence of criminal activity against him.
Also at fault here are Police Board members. Why did Glenn Wong tell the media that he agreed with Robertson and other Police Board members that Chu was doing a fine job and deserved an extension of his contract. Did it ever occur to Wong, who told the media that Chu often calls him at home to talk, to ask Chu to avoid taking any form of reward from a government official he was supposed to be investigating. If Wong claims he didn't know about the investigation requested into Robertson, then he didn't do due diligence before approving Chu's contract extension, as the requested criminal investigation was a matter of public record.
Allan Garr, a columnist with the Courier newspaper, said in a column earlier this year that the Vancouver Police Board tends not to provide effective oversight of Chief Chu and his officers. Garr said the Police Board are more "lapdogs" than watchdogs.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Young Man Stabbed at Balmoral Hotel
A 24 year old man was stabbed at the Balmoral Hotel on Hastings St. on Friday night at about 11 p.m. He was reportedly trying to break up a fight on the dance floor.
As I look at these photos of police officers at the Balmoral after the stabbing, I'm reminded of something I've been noticing over the past couple of years: female police officers seem short to me, considering that there is a large pool of big women to hire from. I mentioned that to the late Tom Green, who was caretaker of Strathcona Park and then Robson Park, and he said that was because there's a lot of nepotism at the VPD and they're hiring one another's daughters. The lower height requirement also allows them to hire more Asian officers, male and female.
On a positive note, the woman who sent me these photos reported that police didn't bother her when she was taking them. It's been a struggle, but the VPD under Chief Jim Chu are getting more respectful of the Charter right of citizens to take photos at crime scenes. In the past many VPD officers didn't want their photos taken and photographers were being harassed, even grabbed.
Man Attacked while sitting in front of Waves Coffee Shop at Hastings & Richards
A man got a bloody forehead when a bunch of guys attacked him as he sat in front of Waves coffee shop at Hastings and Richards on Saturday at 3:30 a.m. The attackers were banging up against the window of Waves, according to the Downtown Eastsider who submitted these photos. A group of police officers arrived almost instantly and broke it up; somebody had apparently called them earlier. Police spoke to several witnesses. Women went into Waves afterwards, crying.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Carnegie Renovations
Carnegie Centre has been undergoing extensive renovations over the past few months. I snapped this photo of workmen in the gym last week to test the quality of my new cell phone camera. Cell phone cameras have difficulty getting enough light so photos are often of poor quality.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Drugs at Main & Hastings didn't get him but the Bugs in a British Hospital Did
At the Tuesday night cabaret at Carnegie, a woman told me that former Downtown Eastsider Ken Stook, who some people knew as "Kane", had died. She said he had died over five years ago. I hadn't known. He put me up once ; he helped me out until I found an apartment and I helped him out with his rent.
He used to volunteer at the now defunct La Quena cafe on Commercial Drive. I think he got meals or something in exchange.
A few years ago one of Ken's friends at the Ford building told me that he had returned to England to train to be a psychiatric nurse. When I ran into that friend again, he told me that Ken had since gotten ejected from the psych nurse program. He had been working with troubled kids and one of them had hit him. Ken hit him back.
Ken was born in Wales and as a young man was in the British army. While on duty, he had seen some people acting suspiciously around a car -- if I remember correctly, he thought they were IRA -- and he handcuffed them to the car while he was arranging for help to arrive. The car blew up. Time to move to Canada.
Ken would have been in roughly his early forties when he required a stay in a hospital in England. The woman I talked to didn't know the reason for his stay, just that it wasn't what killed him. What killed him was a bug he picked up in the hospital. Hospitals in England are notoriously unsanitary. CBC radio had a show early this year on that topic and discussed the high death rate. They interviewed a Canadian man whose mother had been in England, required a hospital stay, and had come out in a body bag as a result of picking up a super bug. Bugs are a problem in all hospitals -- Surrey, B.C. had a reputation for this too -- but the problem is particularly bad in England.
I don't know the reasons management has allowed British hospitals to become dirty death traps. But I do read news stories about staff in British hospitals being stretched attempting to accommodate the huge, intolerant, Muslim population. Muslim men don't want their women seen by a male doctor. Muslims demand that nurses turn the beds toward Mecca. Time to divert less resources toward accommodating and more toward disinfecting.
Ken got infected. Then he apparently got re-infected. Goodbye Ken.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
$hitty Hall's Failed Toilet Experiment
I just received this photo but it was taken around the 2nd last week of February at 2:30 a.m. on a Thursday, shortly after patrons streamed out of the No. 5 Orange strip bar at Main & Powell St.
My guess is that this toilet across the street from the No. 5 Orange was broken by one of their patrons, as the bar had just closed. Downtown Eastsiders have long said that much of the vandalism in the neighbourhood is committed by rowdies coming to the area to drink. Rowdies pull up to the No. 5 Orange in expensive cars, taxis, and limos.
For years, guys leaving the No. 5 Orange would walk across the street and take a leak in the garden or the hedge by the fire station. The Olympics changed that. The City installed a high-tech, self-cleaning outhouse on the sidewalk in front of the fire station. After that, men leaving the No. 5 Orange would walk across the street and around the outhouse to take a leak in the garden or the hedge by the fire station. There is something about that little electronic button you have to push to get into the outhouse that leaves a guy wondering whether that door can be trusted to open again on the way out.
Photo of the sink in the outhouse which somebody stuffed a shirt into on the same night the toilet was broken
Not only guys from the bar but pedestrians on the sidewalk too have to walk around the outhouse.
Keeping this electronic outhouse operating has been like flushing money down the toilet. When it was built, a team of City worker in florescent yellow vests were there for a long time -- nobody remembers just how long -- digging up the street and then putting it back together again. A team of workers were back again this year, making a big hole and then re-paving the sidewalk. Shortly afterwards the toilet bowl was busted.
The outhouse must be at least partly financed by CBS, the company that puts billboard advertisements on both sides of it. The only action neighbours have seen around the outhouse recently is the billboard man driving up in the white CBS van to tinker with the controls for the billboards, which he accesses by opening a small door in the back of the outhouse.
The door of the outhouse has been locked for almost a month. And guys continue to walk around it to take a low-tech leak in the garden or the hedge.
Photo of the sink in the outhouse which somebody stuffed a shirt into on the same night the toilet was broken
Friday, February 25, 2011
$10,000 from Edgewater Casino to be given to Vision/COPE Friends Hosting an Under-the-Table Gambling Operation for Chinese Men at Carnegie Centre
The City of Vancouver took $10,000 from a licensed gambling operation and now plans to give it to their political allies hosting an unlicensed gambling operation.
On Feb. 17, City staff recommended that $10,000 from the "social responsibility" fund, money collected from the Edgewater Casino, be given to Carnegie Centre. It is not news to City staff and management that Carnegie has for years been the site of a gambling operation catering to Chinese men.
"The Chinese guys who sit on the first floor and in the basement playing cards and board games, are they ALL gambling?", a Carnegie member asked a Chinese elder who hangs out with the gamblers. The elder nodded, "All of them. They are all on welfare and they are all gambling."
The elder was asked what they called the board game they play for hours in the basement, the one where they move around pieces that look like white hockey pucks. "That's Chinese chess", he said, explaining that the gamblers sitting on the first floor at Carnegie are playing poker and those sitting in the basement are playing Chinese chess.
Don't get me wrong, this elder wasn't ratting out his pals. He had been listening to a group of us talking about the City of Vancouver's planned expansion of the Edgewater Casino -- "bad idea", he said -- when the topic turned to the fact that the City has been hosting a gambling operation for years at Carnegie. It was obvious to the Chinese elder that we were aware of the gambling at Carnegie 365 days a year, but that our knowledge needed fine-tuning.
This Chinese elder has no interest in the 'poverty services' at Carnegie such as the cafeteria -- "I can cook cheaper at home" -- or the Learning Centre, and is drawn to the Centre solely by the social life surrounding the gambling.
Some of the gamblers at Carnegie are addicted, namely those on Disability welfare, the highest level of welfare which gives them $800 a month. They qualify for Disability, the elder said, because they have "problems", mostly mental health issues. They gamble at both Carnegie and the Edgewater Casino. They make their bigger bets at the Edgewater and their small bets at Carnegie.
The elder says that although there can be $5 or $10 bets at the gambling tables at Carnegie, most of the bets made there are under $5. And because the gamblers are fairly evenly matched, they each win a few games and lose a few, and by the end of an evening of gambling, they may owe as little as $2, or they may have broken even.
Gamblers at Carnegie don't pay after each game, but keep track of what's owed on a small piece of paper on the table. After hours of gambling, money is passed under the table.
These gamblers, according to another Chinese elder, live "miserable" lives, partially as a result of becoming indebted to a loan shark. When they borrow from the loan shark, "they have to pay back double."
Carnegie used to provide in-house loan shark services, under former director Michael Clague. (Clague, who told a member that he had come to Carnegie to top up his pension, was awarded the Order of Canada for his work there and has now loaned his name to the 'Vancouver Not Vegas' campaign to stop the expansion of the Edgewater Casino.) W. Myles, an SFU graduate and volunteer tutor at the Carnegie Learning Centre, repeatedly complained to Clague, both verbally and in writing, that a security guard, Paul H., a City employee and CUPE member, was loan sharking. One of her students, Danny, was seriously in debt to this loan shark. She was frustrated by Clague's apparent disinterest in her complaint. Several bloggers, including myself, knew Danny too; he was a heavy smoker who was definitely relying on loan shark services to keep himself in tobacco. At the end of each month he would owe most of his welfare cheque to the loan shark before he had even cashed it.
"How come security guards like Ted Chaing who speak Chinese don't anything [about the gambling]?", a Chinese elder was asked. Chaing afterall spends hours standing at his security post at the front lobby reception desk -- where the loan shark used to stand -- just a few feet from the gambling tables, and he speaks Chinese. The elder said security doesn't catch them because people are gambling for about six hours, but spending only one minute exchanging money. "Compare six hours to one minute", he said.
An elder pointed out too that even if security sees one patron handing $5 to another, the patron can simply say that he had borrowed that money and was paying it back. Even if security thinks it's a gambling payment, "They can't prove it."
Since when though did Carnegie security need proof? They regularly bar people without proof, without due process. There are records of people being barred for months or years without proof. A person can even be barred if they anger the wrong people by getting elected to the Board of Directors. This blog has been devoted to covering this epidemic of baseless barrings.
The gambling operation at Carnegie contradicts the City's public relations spiel about eliminating activities in the Centre that could tempt people who "struggle" with addictions. There are Caucasian people at Carnegie who struggle with gambling addictions. A guy who wears a Jed Clampet style, old floppy hat, and and smokes on the patio just metres away from the gambling tables, used to regularly lose his entire welfare cheque in one night at the Edgewater.
The Carnegie pr spiel includes a claim about how they attempt to make the building a comfortable environment for women and children. Staff and management did nothing to make a three year old boy feel comfortable when his father was fixated on the gambling in the basement. Every evening for at least a year, the father would bring the boy, who spoke only Chinese, to the Carnegie basement where he would stand idle for at least four hours, maybe as many as six, waiting for the gambling to end. The guards would go down to the basement at 10 p.m. and close the gambling down; (they allow the poker on the first floor to go until 11 p.m.) On two occasions, I saw women who used the Centre, not staff, briefly occupying the boy with picture books. The boy was well dressed and fed, just idle, sometimes peering through the window of the Seniors' Lounge looking at the large television screen. (He wasn't allowed inside because he wasn't forty.) A middle-aged Chinese woman who frequents the Centre -- the only Chinese woman who I would say hangs out there -- eventually asked the boy in Chinese where his mother was. He said she had died.
Emotional abandonment of children is a routine part of a gambling addiction. I saw a documentary about gambling in Los Vegas, where they highlighted this type of neglect. They showed children wandering around the lobby of a casino waiting for hours for their parents. They reported that a newborn infant had been left for 12 hours in a casino childcare centre while the parents lost themselves in gambling. At least a childcare centre is organized to provide stimulation, for older children anyway, unlike Carnegie which does nothing to offset the effects of the gambling. Maybe the $10,000 social responsibility grant could be used to address that "community services" gap.
That boy may still be playing the waiting game at Carnegie every night. I don't know. Since Carnegie Director Ethel Whitty ordered the much-in-demand public computers removed from the basement, most of the people I would go down there to chat with stopped showing up, so I did too. More privacy for the gamblers.
The fact that Carnegie hosts a gambling operation is not a big problem for most people who go to Carnegie, including myself. But the City's priorities do irk some computer users. City management at Carnegie takes the position that they really don't have much room for public access computers, a service people line up for at Carnegie. Their Computer Room is tiny, tucked at the back of the third floor next to the washrooms, so close in fact that computer-users can hear people farting and peeing in the men's washroom. The room has no windows to the outside world and is so narrow that you cannot walk past computer-users without bumping their chairs, which causes friction between people. Yet one of the most spacious and pleasant areas in the Centre, with a row of tall, old windows, is the first floor sitting room where the gambling operation has run unchecked for years. It's right under the noses of security and just a few yards from the office of security boss, Skip Everall.
Why does the City of Vancouver continue to play host to a gaming operation? Because they're playing the diversity game. There's a lot of money riding on it. Part of Carnegie's funding schtick is that they encourage cultural diversity and harmony. They have hustled grants for such programs as native "cultural sharing" in the theater once a week, where the program's native leader's idea of cultural sharing was banging his white co-leader.
The value of a congregation of Chinese faces immediately visible to anybody walking in the front door of Carnegie, can't be underestimated. Politicians with media in tow come to look around. (Former Premier Glen Clarke, who incidentally faced resistance over his plan for slot machines, toured Carnegie.) When funders see the swarm of Chinese faces sitting at the tables, they're thinking, 'multicultural paradise'. Carnegie members are thinking, 'Edgewater Light'.
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