4

-st: ,' Vancouver. V6A 2T7 (604) 665-2289

WHAT1 S HAPPENING?.

((i[2E;YiF& These ques t ions , followed by a s h o r t

s i l e n c e , a r e designed t o e i t h e r g e t a s p e c i f i c answer or to turn t h e one asked i n t o a babbling booby wi th d i a rhea of t h e mouth. So, i f what fo l lows s t a r t s t o go from t h e l a t t e r and becomes t h e l a t t e r , j u s t fo l low your gut r e a c t i o n s .

* McCarthy, t h e e d i t o r of;. $pare Change, was scheduled t o show up a t t h e Commun-

i t y Rela t ions committee. There were a few people - She i l a , Tora, Bharb, A l i c i a , L o r e l i i , J e f f , Donald E me - with a few ques t ions . Like who he t h i n k s he i s t o pass judgement on poor people, what kind of response i s he planning t o t h e people who con t r ibu t ed i n good f a i t h t o t h e 1st e d i t i o n o f $pare Change, on ly t o f i n d he had surrounded a r t i c l e s wi th r a n t s & warnings about he lp ing people i n need G a fu l l -page p o s t e r on t h e back f o r s t o r e owners t o pu t i n t h e i r windows ( h i s i d e a l I guess) t e l l i n g people not t o g ive any- t h i n g t o panhandlers except a copy of h i s paper & t e l l them t o go s e l l it. And of course h e ' s backed by DEEDS.

* Ian MacRae, J e f f Sommers 6 Jimmy Wu gave a r e p o r t on some o f t h e i r work i n

t h e Strathcona/Downtown Eas t s ide Coa l i t - ion. Funny t h i n g they found is t h a t hous- i ng is t h e number one i s s u e throughout t h e c i t y but reaches prime s t a t u s i n o u r neighbourhood. Another po in t t h a t D E W has & i s address ing is t h e non-existence 'of t h e Downtown Eas t s ide a s a community

i n the eyes o f t h e C i t y ' s Planning Dept. Having pub l i c meetings 6 t a l k i n g ind iv id - u a l l y wi th hundreds o f r e s i d e n t s , J e f f 6 Jimmy & Ian c a l l e d f o r and got support f o r demanding t h a t t h e C i t y he lp form a Planning Committee f o r t h i s neighbourhood s p e c i f i c a l l y . One stat - i n t h e l a s t 10 years t h e r e has been a n e t l o s s of 2000 u n i t s o f housing i n t h e D.E. a lone. New bu i ld ings & condos a r e not meant f o r t h e people a l r eady l i v i n g he re E t h i s r equ i r - e s o u r input & by-laws t o dea l with.

* For t h e a f f i c i a n a d o s o f Carnegie s t a f f and ( c a n ' t r e s i s t ) t h e sometime lack

t h e r e o f , t h e fo l lowing memo, stamped TOP SECRET, was leaked t o t h e p re s s . No money changed hands, honest . I t ' s from someone named MacKenzie, which may be a bogus ID scam, but he re it is:

T h e Granv i l l e S t r e e t p r o j e c t is hang- ing ove r my head & Council expec ts a Jan- uary r e p o r t wi th d e t a i l s of where & what a mini Carnegie should be, how i t ' d be funded, e t c . Therefore, I ' v e got t o g e t o f f my f a t a s s & g e t t h e work done.

E f f e c t i v e t h e d a t e o f Donald's r e t u r n from vaca t ion he became t h e Acting Direc- t o r & I became Ms. Granv i l l e . I hope t o open a s t o r e f r o n t o f f i c e a t 1075 Granv. a s soon a s p o s s i b l e i n September ...

A s you may know, t h e Kitchen Programmer and Ass i s t an t Programmer p o s i t i o n s have been r e c l a s s i f i e d . Ca t r iona now repo r t s d i r e c t l y t o t h e Programmer Co-ordinator. Dan T e t r a u l t w i l l cont inue a s Acting Prog- rammer Co-ordinator while Donald is Acting Direc tor .

J e r r y Sentino w i l l cont inue a s Acting Secu r i t y Supervisor while Dan is covering f o r Donald. Marty w i l l cont inue a s Acting Ass i s t an t Kitchen Programmer

Does t h i s a l l sound very complicated? ( I t sounds l i k e t h e r e ' s a l o t o f a c t i n g going on!) The re ' s more.

Bruce Jackson w i l l r e t u r n ( i s t h i s a promise o r a t h r e a t ? ) f o r a t l e a s t two months a s Recrea t ion Programmer. He w i l l be r e spons ib l e f o r Oppenheimer Park, a l l a c t i v i t i e s i n t h e gymnasium, 6 t h e develop ment of a Carnegie r e c r e a t i o n program. ( I s t h i s s u f f i c i e n t warning?)

"MacKenzie" f i n i s h e s by say ing , "Once I ' m s e t t l e d on Granv i l l e I ' l l be ex tending i n v i t a t i o n s . In t h e meantime I ' l l be wand-

from say ing " I ' m a man" t o s ay t h e l e a s t . MEL LEHAN is t h e neighbourhood candida te . More on t h e i s s u e s nex t i s s u e .

I* Also i n t h e nex t i s s u e w i l l b e a r e p o r t I on t h e oDen s e c r e t t h a t S h e i l a ~ a x t e r

* S h e i l a gave me a hand-made card congrat- u l a t i n g t h e Carneige Newsle t te r on i t s

'

won t h e awHrd f o r w r i t i n g t h e b e s t book i n B.C. on women's i s s u e s : Under t h e Viaduct: Homeless i n B e a u t i f u l B.C. I c a n ' t say anyth ing more u n t i l ( s e c r e t ) i s o f f i c i a l l y announced by ( s e c r e t ) .

C l t y I n f o s t a l l c a n ' t accept dunaL Ions fo r t h i n n c u s l c t t e r , 80 I f y o t ~ can h e l p , f lnd pa111 Tay lu r a ~ ~ d I l e ' l l g l v e you a r e c e i p t .

e r i n g around Carnegie bu t Donald . . * There ' s going t o b e a b y - e l e c t i o n on

September 19 f o r t h e vacant s e a t on C i t y Counci l . Campbell & h i s c o h o r t s a r e running a person whose e n t i r e p l a t fo rm i n t h e l a s t e l e c t i o n c o n s i s t e d of say ing "I'm

Thanks everyonel

6 t h ann ive r sa ry l a s t i s s u e . I t read - Bl

"WORK" h There was a man c a l l e d . P a u l It That ' s a l l he d i d . . t h a t ' s a1 1. ' 1 From dusk till dawn & sometimes more I i A t work he was heard t o SNORE w

Submiss I o n I k n d 1 lne

NICXT ISSUE ~ - - -

11 September Fr iday 0

'I'l~c Ihwn town E a s t s i d e R e s i d e n t s ' A s s o c i a t i o n call Ile lp you w i t h :

2 ; I I IV w e l f a r e v r o b l e n ~ s

a woman. I ' (which i s c e r t a i n l y d i f f e r e n t whi le y e t awake.. . - 1992 DONATIONS: Cement Masons-$100 Tom S.-$5 DERA -$500

1: g

K e i t h C.-$20 P a u l a R.-$20 Hazel M.-$25 Legal S e r v i c e s -$200 NancyW.-$100 Co l1eenE . -$25 The Old S a i l o r -$40 E t i e n n e S . 4 5 0 Luba P. -$ lo S t u a r t M.-$10 C e c i l e C . -$20 F o r e s t Lawn -$25 Robert - $ lo CEEDS - $50 J e a n F.-$15 Yvonne C.-$10 Rotary Club of Chinatown -$767.15 Ken -$5 Anonymous -$ I8

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Four S i s t e r s Co-op -$500 jovce M.-$10 Smi thers S .S .-$45 Roberts A.L.C.-$30 'I

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE DOCTORS OF B.C.

Dear Madams & S i r s ,

The ques t ion a r i s e s i n my mind: What a r e t h e doc to r s i n BC up t o ?

What has happened t o t h e i r Hippocrat ic Oath..or does i t no longer hold i n t h i s profess ion? And does it imply, a s i t does i n my understanding of i t , t h a t doc tors a r e committed t o serv ing people i n need of t h e i r a i d , r ega rd l e s s of who t h e appl icant f o r he lp i s - f r i e n d o r foe , r i c h o r poor, l o c a l o r fo re igh?

A s t h e message comes through t o me, t h e BC doc to r s a r e outraged because our gov ' t has cal~ped t h e i r income through appl ica- t i o n of u s e r f e e s - has, i n s h o r t , e i t h e r l i m i t e d t h e i r a n t i c i p a t e d income f o r t h e immedia te , fu ture , o r undercut it i n some way; and t h i s gov ' t has , a s it appears t o me, somehow jeopardised t h e pension a r r an - gements made dur ing t h e previous socred g o v ' t ? I f I am wrong i n t h i s , p l ea se c o r r - e c t me. But, i n sum, t h e i s s u e appears t o be one of income.

A t a t ime when hundreds of thousands of Canadians, inc luding those i n BC, a r e not on ly having t h e i r f i n a n c i a l resources "capped" but c u t back o r e l imina ted a l t o - ge the r through p l a n t c l o s u r e s and/or comp. any f i n a n c i a l " r e s t r a i n t " p o l i c i e s , it seems t o me s i n g u l a r that t h e doc to r s a r e s o upse t about r e s t r a i n t s on themselves.

The Hippocratic oath

'if I fulfil thiioath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely. may the opposite of all this be my lot

A s a group, t h e medical personnel a t thc l e v e l of p r a c t i s i n g doc to r s has t h e high- e s t (or among t h e h ighes t ) personal d i spo- s a b l e incomes. Nobldy, and c e r t a i n l y no t me, den ie s t h e demands made on t h e s e r v i c - e s of doc to r s , no r t h e e f f e c t i v e response

,f doc to r s on t h e whole t o those demands,@. 3ut t h e p u b l i c ' s understanding i s t h a t )ersons choosing t h e medical p ro fe s s ion a s L c a r e e r do s o a t t h e i r own choice, E take :he Hippocra t ic Oath. They thus accept t h e :ondi t ions of t h e i r c a l l i n g , a s does every me accept ing s p e c i f i c employment.

In t h e p re sen t i n s t ance I ' d expect t h e Ioc tors , i f t hey a r e d i s s a t i s f i e d with t h e remuneration t h e gov ' t is prepared t o pro- r ide f o r t h e i r co-operat ion i n medicare, :o j o i n wi th o t h e r people providing prod- l c t s & / o r s e r v i c e s t o t h e publ ic i n deman-

.-

ding cu r t a i lmen t o f un jus t - t axes , such a s s a l e s t a x a t t h e r e t a i l l e v e l , &/or t h a t t hose no t paying t h e i r j u s t sha re o f taxa- t i o n be requi red t o do so. . r e t r o a c t i v e l y a s well a s c u r r e n t l y . There i s s u f f i c i e n t evidence of t a x evasion o r lack of e f f e c t - i v e t a x a t i o n on t h e p a r t of corpora te bod- i e s t o make it unnecessary f o r me t o go i n t o d e t a i l on t h i s .

In s h o r t , I ask why a r e doc to r s not ready t o shoulder t h e i r sha re of " r e s t r - a in t " , o r b e t t e r s t i l l , why do they not j o i n with o t h e r v i c t ims of lop-sided 6 da- maging d i s t r i b u t i o n of purchasing power i n a d r i v e t o r e c t i f y t h e present system, & in t roduce a g r e a t e r ekenebt i f f au rbes s & j u s t i c e t o a l l ?

Beat r ice Ferneyhough PS: I t ' s no t ab l e t h a t t h e r i c h - who opp- ose medicare anyway - being f i n a n c i a l l y I

a b l e t o shoulder medical c o s t s continue t o g e t s e rv i ce s : it i s only those a l ready v i c - t im i sed by t h e c u r r e n t economic system who a r e being pena l i s ed by doctors s t r i k i n g . I s t h i s f a i r ? I s it even decent?

I

SIGHT-SEEING ON A BUS

Whenever I r i d e a bus f o r a day I s e e many types of f a c e s from va r ious r ace s Some seem q u i t e vacant While o t h e r s a r e r e a l hype From d i f f e r e n t p laces While r i d i n g on a l o c a l bus I see censor- type f a c e s From a l l ages Thei r express ions seem t o say "Wonder where you ' r e going?" As t h e i r moods change Whatever day I'm r i d i n g a bus I s e e g r a n i t e - l i k e f a c e s And when they disembark, they cuss These types a r e d i f f i c u l t t o accept So I j u s t g r i n and bear it. And t r y t o hold onto my own smile Whether I'm on an e a r l y o r l a t e bus I s e e s eve ra l sad , angry o r worried look That you'd on ly read about i n books I n some way, I wish I could he lp These seemingly l b s t s o u l s If on ly t h e i r d e s t i n i e s had r e a l g o a l s T h e r e l l l always be a few p l ea san t days To s ee a genuine smile o r two While r i d i n g on a c i t y bus

ONCE - Once t h e r e was a poor man Who had a r e a l l y good l i n e "1 may no t have a penny But I have good f r i e n d s . "

Once t h e r e was a r i c h man Who had a r e a l l y good l i n e " I have l o t s of d o l l a r s and 1 buy my f r i ends . "

Once t h e r e was a working man Who had a r e a l l y good l i n e "1 have a few d o l l a r s , but I'm f a r t oo busy f o r f r i ends . "

Once t h e r e was a Native man Who had a r e a l l y good l i n e "The r i c h e s of my hands I w i l l s ha r e wibh my bro thers . "

once thelle ,was a b lack man Who had a r e a l l y good l i n e " I f it a i n ' t from t h e h e a r t with r e spec t and love it a i n ' t good enuf f . "

Once t h e r e was a yellow man Who had a r e a l l y good l i n e "Where I come from we have r e spec t f o r t h e o ld ways."

Once t h e r e was a s p i r i t u a l man Who had a r e a l l y good l i n e "Throw away your l i n e s and fo l low me . I 1

Dreamweaver ,

A NEW SEASON

Oh, t ime! be slow! I t was a dawn ago I was a c h i l d Dreaming of being grown; A noon ago I was wi th c h i l d r e n of my own; and now I t ' s a f te rnoon - and l a t e , and t hey a r e grown and gone. Time, wai t !

G r a m

' Knowledge Network (475 W . Georgia)

Dear Folks,

A man named J i m Bach s e n t a desc r ip t i on of a 'documentary' he proposed t o do i n t h e Downtown Eas ts ide . I t ' s working t i t l e was Welfare Wednesday. He wanted t h e app- roval /support o f t h e Carnegie Community Centre ~ s s o c i a t i o n ( a c t u a l i y he wanted- the approval of t he Direc tor o f Carnegie.. he knew nothing of t h e a s soc i a t i on ) .

He used the name of t h e Knowledge Net- work & t h e Open Learning something i n t h e proposal .

This l e t t e r i n your hand 8 t h e enclosed Carnegie Newslet ters a r e s e n t t o you t o

I keep a promise t o r eade r s 5 r e s i d e n t s . The almost unanimous response t o Bach has been i negat ive. The i s s u e o f August 1, 1992 con- t a i n s a f i r s t response ... Bach then came t o t h e Community Rela t ions Committee meeting on J u l y 30, t o g e t t h e approval t h a t every one refused t o g ive i nd iv idua l ly i n l i e u of ( i . e . before) t h e scheduled meeting. The i s sue , Bach's f i r s t l e t t e r & h i s sec- ond l e t t e r ' apologis ing ' f o r t h e f i r s t , & h i s . proposed approach t o t h e area/people/ s t e r eo types , was d iscussed . The Committee

, voted unanimously t o r e j e c t h i s proposal . The Newslet ter f o r August 15 has wr i t t en

responses, requested i n t h e August 1 i s s u e t o Bach & t h i s whole venue of biased,

I s t e r e o t y p i c a l media. A s promised, a l l responses a r e coming t o

t h e Knowledge Network. The Newslet ter i s s - ues of J u l y 15, August 1 8 August 15 a r e a l l enclosed t o g ive a longer view of peo-

I p l e here , t o show t h a t ou r response t o Bach & o t h e r s of h i s i l k i s not an i s o l a t - ed ,~knee - j e rk r eac t ion . A l l n ews le t t e r s a r e produced from s t a r t t o f i n i s h (except

1 f o r t h e ac tua l p r i n t i n g ) by volunteers . I have been t h e e d i t o r on a voluntary b a s i s f o r 5% yea r s . . t he pape r ' s 6 t h anniversary was August 15.

For yea r s hundreds of i nd iv idua l s & ovel a dozen groups /organisa t ions have done in - c r e d i b l e community work t o change t h e n a t - u r e of our community, t o r e f u t e t h e l a z y , v i c ious monicker "skid row" & e s t a b l i s h t h e neighbourhood a s t h e Downtown Eas ts idf

: This s t u f f comes t o you not a s a p o l i t e package of i n t e r e s t i n g information, bu t a!

r veh ic l e f o r t h e s t rong emotion contained here in . Bach used t h e name of t h e Know 6 edge Network a s though h i s p r o j e c t had , ' he t a c i t (maybe even t h e f u l l & enthusia- , t i c ) support of your editors/managers/ rhatever you c a l l t h e b ra s s t he re . I f t h i s ;upport was given even before t h e video ras produced, t h a t ' s d i s tu rb ing . Most peo- ) l e have a very p o s i t i v e opinion of t h e Cnowledge Network & t h e s t u f f you a i r . If :his kind of garbage i s now going t o be Teatured, you a r e shooting yourselves i n :he f o o t ' .

A response would be apprec ia ted . The ex- t r a cop ie s of t h e Newslet ter a r e f o r t h e )pen Learning something t h a t Bach a l s o Listed i n h i s proposal . I f you know what 3 r who t h i s i s , p l ea se forward what you can t o them. Thank you f o r your time.

Respec t fu l ly submitted, PaulR Taylor , Edi tor .

To Whom it may concern.

Recently I was reading i n t he newspaper t h a t Mexico C i ty is having such severe p o l l u t i o n problems t h a t they a r e consider- ing i n s t a l l i n g g i a n t f ans t o blow t h e smog up 6 over t he mountains. A more e f f i c i e n t way of so lv ing t h i s problem would be t o i n s t a l l a high volume vacuum pump a t t h e o u t l e t o f t h e storm sewer system, t h e pol- l u t e d a i r could be drawn from t h e s t r e e t s i n t o t h e storm sewer system, then t o a f i l t e r i n g system o r piped r i g h t ou t .

The GVRD (Vancouver 8 d i s t r i c t ) is now on a six-month campaign t o s o l i c i t sugges- t i o n s from t h e pub l i c f o r environmental c lean-up. . .but a f t e r wr i t ing f o r 3 months f o r an acknowledgement of j u s t rece iv ing t h i s submission, I can only assume it i s t h e same a s submit t ing any suggest ion t o any l e v e l of t h e Canadian gov ' t - you may a s well throw it i n t h e t rashcan .

Gordon Birkby

Edi tor , Our humourous d o l l a r coin was t h e r e s -

u l t of a g o v l t competi t ion gone awry. When t h e g o v l t planned t o r e p l a c e paper d o l l a r s wi th co in s & held a competi t ion, s eve ra l des igns were r e j e c t e d . The number of s e l e c t i o n s wh i t t l ed down t o two. The chosen des ign was s e n t by c o u r i e r t o t h e mint, bu t it f a i l e d t o a r r i v e on t ime, i f a t a l l . The mint was on a schedule so they c a s t t h e second choice.

Had t h e g o v ' t bu t known it would b r ing smiles t o Canadian f a c e s , 6 a new term t h a t has won ou r h e a r t s , t hey may have chosen d i f f e r e n t l y . We have i n h e r i t e d "Looney Bins" a s co in banks 6 "Looney" t c mean d o l l a r s . I doubt we w i l l s t o p us ing t h e term when t h e b i r d p i c t u r e is r ep l ac - ed by a new, more ' d i g n i f i e d ' des ign , which i s i n t h e works.

The T i r e s E:

coming i n t o t h e r a i n , t h e l a s t c a f e Pf

before dark, evening s e t t i n g l i k e a shower , ei of r u s t and r eck l e s s co f f ee s i r t i r e s s tacked i n a brown s l u s h dc by t h e g a t e , a s s i l e n t a s dead r i v e r s b: t h a t d i shea r t en t h e freeway

they a r e small i n f i n i t i e s o f p e r f e c t black dl

sad mouths of h i s t o r y 1 t'

g l i s t e n i n g brims of emptiness C

I stopped d r iv ing because of t h i s exc ruc i a t i ng , expected hour, t h i s unavoidable need f o r bear ings

anywhere, a t h i n c i g a r e t t e l i n e j e

t h e only comedian I t Dan Feeney

8 t I Dora Sanders

Edi tor ,

a 0

b t

I am i n agreement wi th To ra ' s l e t t e r r e "Spare Change". This r a g pre tends t o he lp poor people but t h e e d i t o r ' s comments and back page p o s t e r d i s c r imina t e aga in s t t h e poor.

Panhandlers a r e i nd iv idua l s t h e same a s everyone e l s e . I f we choose t o g ive t o someone, t h a t ' s our own choice. I have met abusive panhandlers & I ' v e a l s o met f r i g h t - ened, s i c k , lone ly , s t a r v i n g , confused &

1 homeless panhandlers . . each an i nd iv idua l who deserves t o be t r e a t e d a s one.

I t ' s l i k e t he l a b e l s "welfare bum", "wel- f a r e c h i l d u , "welfare mother", "welfare dad". . .Soc ie ty p u t s t h e l a b e l - welfare = beggar. Le t ' s drop those l a b e l s & give peo- p l e some d i g n i t y . PS: Keep "Spare Change" o u t of Carnegie.

S h e i l a Baxter

A S t r e e t Child.

Boy o r Girl.

L i t t l e one L i t t l e one s tanding t h e r e with your eyes so sad and your unwashed h a i r t h i n p a l e f ace hanging down. t h e s t r e e t s your home, t he pimps a r e watching j u s t wai t ing t o grab and use you f o r meat i n t he sex t r a d e . L i t t l e one, l i t t l e one no t ye t twelve run, run home, run, but you c a n ' t run home because it' s f u l l of abuse, so where can you run t o ? A group home, f o s t e r c a r e f i l l s you with f e a r ; where w i l l you run t o L i t t l e one, L i t t l e one? Where w i l l you run t o Sad, f r i gh t ened ch i l d?

S h e i l a Baxter

y worded r u l e s t h a t s i d e t r a c k ti s i p h o n k s lff a s much a s p o s s i b l e i h t o bank lackounts ~f o f f i c i a l j o b ~ h o l d i n g c a r e e r f r eaks .

When t h e p a r a s i t e s o f co rpo ra t e i n f r a s - r uc tu re hold t h e i r annual award d inners & iedia event< they shake hands & smile 4 w i s e themselves enormously, but back i n he o f f i c e 6 co rpo ra t e bedrooms t h e y ' r e n i f i n g & s h a f t i n g t h e i r "colleagues" l i k e ou wouldn't be l i eve . Every one o f them, i g h t down t o t h e l o w l i e s t shmuck i n t he ailr room is shuckin' & j i v i n ' f o r a heavi- r s l i c e of economic ac t i on . ..We d o n ' t need any of them! An e f f i c i e n t f a i r d i s t r i b u t i o n of world resources

ould e a s i l y be managed by computer banks i n t e r n a t i o n a l networks of sh ippers , rec-

i v e r s & d i s t r i b u t o r s . One small group of imple-minded accountants with i d e a l i s t i c , o t i va t i ons could run t h e whole t h ing from

s i n g l e f l o o r of t h e U . N . bu i ld ing . A l l he r e s t o f t h e unused o f f i c e s could be onverted i n t o l i v i n g space & f r e e c l i n i c s . e could so lve most o f t h e world 's prob- ems overn ight & g e t t o work on t h e r e a l ough s t u f f f i r s t t h i n g i n t h e morning.

i Send me dead f lowers ...

Most of t h e gene ros i t y i n t h e Downtown Eas ts ide i s not r i c h people g iv ing t o pool people - most of i t (probably 90%) i s t h e poor shar ing what l i t t l e they have with each o t h e r . Meanwhile, a l l around them an i n c r e d i b l y wealthy s o c i e t y i s wheeling & dea l i ng i n m i l l i o n s & b i l l i o n s wi th t a x

- Where t h e r e ' s a w i l l t h e r e ' s a way. Un- o r tuna t e ly , t h e f a c t s a r e - t h e r e is ab- o l u t e l y no w i l l t o do t h i s among those ho have t h e power t o move mountains. here is, i n s t ead , on ly t h e w i l l t o grow i c h & look good - t he r e s t o f us can go o h e l l , & someitmes I th ink ..e a r e a l r e a - y t he r e .

TORA

,

breaks 6 w r i t e - o f f s ga lore . When t h e r i c h o r middle-income b racke t s

donate t o e s t ab l i shed c h a r i t y s , t hey g ive t o maintain p o l i t i c a l & bureauc ra t i c s t r u - c tu r e s .

In Somalia, when western count rys donatf food & medicine i t ' s picked up a t t h e a i r -

I p o r t by s o l d i e r s who s t o r e it i n heav i ly ( guarded warehouses while t h e i r desk-monk- 1 eys a r range t r ade -o f f s f o r weapons & m i l i - I t a r y equipment.

In Canada, dona t ions t o organized cha r i - t y a r e used t o pay r e n t , s a l a r i e s , adve r t - i s i n g budgets, maintenance c o s t s & expenst accounts before any of it t r i c k l e s (oozes: out t o t h e people. What's t h e d i f f e r e n c e ' between f i n a n c i a l a i d t o Third World coun- - t r i es & c h a r i t y donat ions t o low income neighbourhoods? Very l i t t l e .

There ' s r e a l l y no need f o r a l l t he se desk jobs when we have a technology t h a t

, faxes information & economic c r e d i t arounc t h e globe i n t h e wink o f an eye & s t o r e s accura te a c c o u n t a b i l i t y i n i n s t a n t access databanks. When we have con t a ine r t r ucks & t r a i n s capable of sh ipping pe r i shab l e goods t o a l l p a r t s of every con t inen t & cargo p l anes t h a t can f l y t ons of supplys anywhere i n t h e world, t h e holding compan

I ys t h a t con t ro l world markets have no ex- cuse whatever when it comes t o a f a i r & necessary d i s t r i b u t i o n of products .

We know, of course , t h a t they only p l ay a boardllgame wi th t h e E a r t h ' s resources which has no r e l a t i o n s h i p t o r e a l need. .. i t ' s only p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s & media conven ience t h a t make it appear o therwise .

People a r e no t s t u p i d - they know they ' r e being scammed by power sucks i n smart s u i t s .

Here & everywhere e l s e , t h e image of c h a r i t y , benevolence & gene ros i t y is noth ing but a puppet show arranged f o r person a 1 gain. The poor, & t hose i n need of a s s i s t a n c e a r e always confronted wi th c l e v e r

I

BETH CANBRIA, Cymru Where a r e you, when i t ' s a hot / cold summer's n igh t . . . . " ?

Hot! Hot i n t h e h o t e l room.. . Cold. Feet i n t h e sand a t t h e beach. Crab beach. Seashore, on t h e o t h e r s i d e of t h e t r acks .

Dogs on t he Seach, Dog d i g s up a rock. "Go fetch!" I nervously s a i d a s I swam ashore. Too co ld t o say i t .

Dead. Dead c rabs l i t t e r t he sho re l i ne , a l l kinds of s i z e s , mainly q u i t e small . One r ed claw entwined with seaweed.

Cruiseship leaves a turmoilous wake of waves and deadly undertow. Canned a s p i r i n s and t o i l e t paper swirls up t o t h e su r f ace . Diesel f u e l fumes descend al though c lo se t o t h e shore a windy breeze quickly t akes ca r e of t he se .

Ball playing allowed. Golfing too! Botchy b a l l and f r i s b e e s and one b lue rubber b a l l f o r t h e dog.

Margaret wheels bye smil ing now wave on my b ike soon enough t o brave t r a f f i c , t r a c k s and f i r e t rucks .

taum Danbye

Don't Change. - Slow Change - No Change 1 We have been l e d t o worry about an econ- I

omy & preserve it a s is . I t i s not wise t o p r o t e c t an economic system t h a t i s des t ruc 1 t i v e t o humanity and na ture .

We have been l ed t o f e a r major changes t o t h e economy. I t i s not wise t o f e a r ma- j o r changes t h a t n igh t b e n e f i t humanity & na tu re .

We have been l e d t o be l i eve t h a t wealth and possess ions g ive s e c u r i t y . I t i s not wise t o be l i eve t h a t l i f e s t y l e s of greed don ' t harm humanity and na tu re .

Peaches

This shows you t h e importance of keeping s tocks up. Be s u r e t o have always i n s t o r e a goodly supply - 3 months' worth, say - of f l o u r , sugar , t e a , and b o t t l e d dr ink ing water. And l e a r n t o d r y your f r u i t & vege- t ab l e s . This way i n t h e event of d i s a s t e r - not t h e n a t u r a l k ind , bu t t h e human,

I mean, t h e human ca t a s t rophe of neighbour upra i sed aga in s t neighbour -

you should not need t o r ace ou t between v o l l e y s i n a d a i l y laying- i n of p rovis ions .

Let t h i s be a lesson t o you t o guard your ch i l d r en with d i l l i g e n c e , knowing now how small bodies accept t h e a s s a s i n ' s bu l - l e t a s an i d e a l t a r g e t , given t h e ex t en t of t h e damage i n f l i c t e d . - ~ e prepared with b lanke ts , games, comic books, i n case you need t o keep t h e young concealed (al though they could have committed no harm; even though the people who t h r e a t e n them were f r i e n d s , fo rmer ly) . Also keep candles , matches, medicines 'and l i n e n s on hand.

This l e t s you see , then , t h a t t h e r e well may be many more o u t s i d e t h e wa l l s than a r e in . And o f t e n t hose discovered and confined a s ' a f f l i c t e d 1 have deple ted themselves. While t h e t r u e madmen, f o r whom the f e v e r of madness can only be r e - l i eved i n t h e anguish of t h e i r n e a r e s t countrymen - l o c a l t y r ann i e s - and whose fami ly name n i g h t a s e a s i l y be I r i s h , Khmer, a s Serbian,

a r e r a r e l y s topped, ' i n t ime.

Anonymous - _..-- _..-

d - ' I 'x fo rc ing people i n t o t h e s t r e e t ; N e w

WHAT say Jack & May.. . ------------------- - A s I l ay dying t h e thought came t o me so

c l e a r l y : What c r imina l id iocy , what t o t - a l bankruptcy contemporary s o c i e t y i s i n . - Those a r e s t rong words! - A s I l a y dying t h e impact & c l a r i t y were

very s t rong , very sharp . - But you weren't dying - you a r e s t i l l

here, t a l k i n g . - I am dying - being k i l l e d minute by min-

u t e , hour by hour by contemporary soc ie- t y which, on t h e cont rary , should be pro- longing my l i f e . . i f it were not c r imina l ly i d i o t i c . . i f i t were not t o t a l l y bankrupt. - HOW can you say t h a t ? Look what medicine

is doing, look what g r e a t c i t i e s - l i k e Vancouver - a r e demonstrating: huge bui ld- ings, more & more highways, automobiles everywhere, huge t r a i n - s i z e d e l i v e r y vans roa r ing along every s t r e e t & highway, banks everywhere, h o s p i t a l s everywhere, mental i n s t i t u t i o n s a l l around, p o l i c e f o r c e s growing, armies f i g h t i n g on a l l s i d e s . .. s o much going on. - Prec i se ly . I s no t t h a t proof of c r imina l

i d iocy? .. of bankruptcy? - I don ' t g e t you. People come he re from

a l l over t h e world because of ou r wealth here - f o r a b e t t e r , f r e e r l i f e . , - Prec ise ly . Because t h e i r own homelands

have been wrecked i n o rde r f o r t he se "world c l a s s c i t i e s " i n t h e west & nor th t o a r i s e - h i g h r i s e o f f i c e bu i ld ings , huge convention c e n t r e s , luxury h o t e l s , condos, massive t r ad ing c e n t r e s & t r a d e exh ib i t - ion h a l l s . .BUT - - .But what?

d i s e a s e s never- be?ore known a r e appearing f o r which medical s c i ence has no answers - induced by a spec t s of t h e present s o c i a l k . o rde r , which r e j e c t s f u l l employment & an oppor tuni ty f o r everyone wi l l i ng & ab le t o work t o g e t access t o t h e means of making a l i v i n g . . . . - Yes, you ' re r i g h t . I o f t e n ask myself

'How can any ind iv idua l o r group have the r i g h t t o exclude anybody from t h e r i g h t of access t o making a l i v i n g . And ye t govern- ments, a l r eady e l e c t e d t o s e rve t h e whole community, do not s t o p employers from de- nying those who a lone can ope ra t e t he pro- duc t ive capac i ty , because of t h e i r s k i l l , access t o t h e p l a n t s & machines t h a t pro- duce; & no t on ly t h a t , do not s t o p p l an t s from being moved i n t o o t h e r a r ea s out of t h e country o f t h e i r o r i g i n (where they were b u i l t by t h e labour of t h e people who a r e being f i r e d ) . - True; governments a r e e l ec t ed t o p ro t ec t

t h e wel fare & i n t e r e s t s of a l l t h e c i t i - zens. But we l i v e i n a h ighly competi t ive world - we have t o be world c l a s s - t o compete.

I - BUT t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e p i c t u r e ! Those'

atworld c l a s s c i t i e s " a r e r o t t i n g a t t h e core - every one of them - everywhere. A t t h e core a r e people l i k e me dying from lack of employment, induced by t h i s s o c i a l o rder ; people mental ly unbalanced, due t o t h e f r u s t r a t i o n s o f t h i s o rde r of soc i e ty ; people inva l ided ou t , due t o t h e labour condi t ions imposed by t h i s soc i e ty ; people madly seeking escape from unresovlabie l i v i n g problems, t ak ing t o drugs & alcohol people s l eep ing i n t h e s t r e e t s because homes a r e not being b u i l t & homes i n t h e way of new h i g h r i s e s a r e being 'bombed'

d

- Rubbish! A s I l a y dying from the impact of t h i s s o c i a l o rder on my l i f e , I could

see it a l l very c l e a r l y . People from a l l around t h e world a r e f locking t o t he se big c i t i e s because they have been s ta rved out of t h e i r homelands by t h e very corporat ions

,who a r e now c los ing down & moving p l a n t s from a r e a s where t h e i r p o l i c i e s & p r a c t i c e s d i s rup ted & destroyed t r a d i t i o n a l ways of l i f e . The so-ca l led "competitivenessll of

.-

contemporary s o c i e t y i s s i m a l , corpora te , i n t e r n a t i o n a i p o l i c y being c a r r i e d ou t q u i t e d e l i b e r a t e l y by means of t h e devious methods of hidden, p r i v a t e , s e c r e t double e n t r y bookkeeping, which jug- g l e s a l l eged ly 'sound1 f i g u r e s around t o conceal world-wide d e l i b e r a t e devas t a t i on of people & n a t u r a l resources . This i s c a l l e d "preserving cash flow". - Tha t ' s q u i t e a mouthful. Come again? - We he re i n America a r e now experiencing

t h e f u l l impact o f c a p i t a l i s t , imper ia l - i s t p o l i c i e s : ou r t r a d i t i o n a l way of l i f e , from t h a t o f Native peoples of t h e longes t s tanding ( t h e Ind ians & I n u i t ) t o t h a t o f t h e people of European o r i g i n of l onges t s tanding , t o t h a t o f t h e most r ecen t immig- r a n t s who have taken out c i t i z e n s h i p - i n s h o r t t h e e n t i r e Canadian t r a d i t i o n a l way of l i f e - i s being d i s rup t ed & r e n t t o p i ece s by aggress ive , i n t r u s i v e & r a d i c a l l y e x p l o i t a t i v e American mu l t i na t i ona l corpor- a t e c a p i t a l i s t greed & r u t h l e s s n e s s , and t h i s with t h e eager co-operat ion of t h e Mulroney gang i n Ottawa.

We a r e being reduced sys t ema t i ca l l y t o a backward co lon i a l a s s e t & source f o r raw ma te r i a l s .

Idiocy & bankruptcy a r e t he on ly terms f o r "doing i n " people, "doing i n " n a t u r a l resources , "doing in" l i f e i t s e l f : what f o r CASH ASSETS my love - s o nour i sh ing , so soothing t o t h e body, s o h e l p f u l i n keeping out t h e cold dontcha know?

A s R i t a Johnston s o c l e a r l y s t a t e d i t i n t h e deba te with Mike Harcourt : "The f i g u r e s Mike! The f igures !" Mike was t oo smart f o r he r . .he d i d n ' t answer. The smoke & mir ro r s t r i c k was a l l t oo obvious t o him. As I und- e rs tood him, he knew t h a t i t ' s r e a l a s s e t s t h a t l i f e demands & what a l l p e o p l e n e e d . P - -

miraculous cure f o r t h e d i s e a s e of greed i s

lrn i n t h e e x e r c i s e of peop le ' s r e a l ass - s ; doing t h i s s t ands t h e cu r r en t s o c i a l ,der on i t s head r e s u l t i n g i n t r u e s o c i a l sti ice f o r a l l . Needed i s t h e w i l l t o t r y lut, r i g h t h e r e i n BC? HOW? By backing every p o s i t i v e , democrat ic a c t i o n of t h e NDP g o v l t t h a t p u t s cont ro I m u l t i n a t i o n a l s & co rpo ra t e e x p l o i t a t i o n no t j u s t i n words but i n ac t i on . The - a n s i t i o n from t h e c u r r e n t o r d e r t o a j u s f r e e s o c i e t y i s no t an academic dream, ~t we have t o s t a r t with what we have & . t h who we a r e . Hmrn. Well, 1'11 t h i n k about it. You may have something t h e r e .

In a few moments, t h e new war t h a t t h e '

whole world i f watching. " (BCTV newspeak - 21/8/92)

'God d e s i r e s r e spec t f o r t h e poor more than t h e honouring of t h e exa l ted ." :from The I n s t r u c t i o n of Amen-em-Otep

Egyptian, Thebes, 1000 b . ~ . )

'The l i f e of t h e day be fo re yes te rday is t h a t o f any day.It : e a r l y Babylonian: t a b l e t s o f Ur; 4OOOb. c)

'THE PEOPLES ' POETS

l1Come out , Come out" t h e bourgeois c r y Ilearing t h e poe t s rave "Come out and stand here by our s i d e And s ing t h e laws we gave."

The peoples ' poe ts hear t h a t vo ice And answer i n t h e i r p r i d e "The peoples ' poe t s s t i l l a r e we By t h e i r laws we abide."

"Oh, s ing of wealth 4 p r i v a t e ga in Arld we w i l l g ive you gold" So s a y , t h e bourgeois t o t h e bards So say they s t rong and bold.

"Oh, s i n g o f wealth 4 p r i v a t e s e l f , Sing r u t h l e s s e n t e r p r i s e , Sing u s t h e song of p r o f i t s s t rong And s tocks t h a t on ly ' r i s e . I 1

So say t h e bourgeois t o t h e bards Strong i n t h e i r s t ocks and bonds They know t h e poe t s can not l i v e Without t h e i r pence and pounds.

But s t i l l t h e bourgeois hea r t h a t voice S i l v e r and s t rong and c l e a r Singing a song they dare no r know And ye t they needs must h e a ~ .

What a r e t h e words t h e poe t s s ing What a r e t h e t a l e s t hey t e l l ? They s i n g of dea th and misery Of youth t oo 3oon grown o ld .

B i t t e r they s ing o f b ~ o k e n gomes Of homes destroyed. .of war; Of homeless people, h e l p l e s s youth Of m i l l i o n a i r e s , o f masses - poor.

Of p l a n t s c losed down and o t h e r s f l e d To fo re ign lands, though b u i l t up here. They c r y aloud i n g r i e f f o r dead That could have f l ou r i shed wibhout f e a r .

Except f o r bourgeois p r i d e and greed That syphon o f f t h e cash we need To keep our f ami l i e s , feed o u r k ids And have s e c u r i t y t h a t r i d s .

The mind and hea r t o f end le s s dread, That cash abd jobs BRING US in s t ead

Too soon, t oo f a s t t o g ive u s time To l i v e throughout our w o ~ k i n g prime The bourgeois sucks our s t r e n g t h 4 bra in Their on ly thought - t h e i r p r i v a t e gain.

But poe t s too s ing ou t i n p r ide Of b a t t l e s won aga ins t d i s t r e s s They t e l l t h e t a l e s of unions b u i l t Co-ops and creches, easing s t r e s s .

Of neighbourhoods t h a t hold t h e i r own When r i c h men p lan t o t e a r them down.

These songs & t a l e s t h e bourgeois hear Despite t h e i r w i l l t o block t h e i r e a r And keep t h e f i g h t i n g words t h a t f l y From winging f a r throughout t h e sky.

Proclaiming l a b o u r ' s w i l l t o l i v e And f l o u r i s h well i n town, and where The farmers till t h e s o i l , and where The seamen s a i l , and f i s h e r s s t r i v e .

"Come ou t , come out!" - That c r y is va in ! The peoples ' poe t s s t i l l remain The voice of men - and women t o o - Strong wi l led t o make the world a-new

In l i n e with n a t u r e ' s f i n e design That growth promotes, and l i f e sus t a in s ; That moves t h e sun and b r ings t h e r a i n , Where laws, r a t i f i e d , w i l l d e f ine A happy l i f e f o r a l l who work And sha re t h e good t h a t hand and b ra in Bring i n t o being, and a t t a i n ( f o r a l l who do not s h i r k )

Peace and good w i l l ' and s e t t l e d ways That move t o love; t h a t g ive what s t ays

"Come ou t , come out" t h e bourgeois c ry Hearing t h e poe t s rave "Come out and stand here by our s i d e And s ing t h e Laws we gave."

The peoples ' poe t s hear t h a t voice And answer i n t h e i r p r ide "The peoples ' poe ts s t i l l a r e we By t h e i r laws we abide."

We s ing of wealth f o r a l l t o share We s ing of owrk, of homes secure And bu i ld a land of wealth and cheer We bui ld a land of freedom - here.

Bea Ferneyhough

- - - -. - - There a r e two Vancouvers, j u s t a s t h e r e

a r e two of every North American c i t y . The f i r s t Vancouver i s made up of t he r i c h E t h e Middle Class . The o t h e r Vancouver i s made up of a hodge-podge of groups such a3 those on welfare, p e t t y c r imina ls , sho r t - term unsk i l l ed workers, drug add ic t s & ex- convic ts . -

In t he pas t , most women had a l l t h e app- earance of being c i t i z e n s of Vancouver I , but because of t h e i r gender were neverthe- l e s s denied f u l l membership i n t h a t soc i e - t y . The Feminist movement seeks t o change t h a t .

S imi la r ly , t h e gay l i b e r a t i o n movement s t r i v e s t o ga in a p l ace f o r a s many gays a s pos s ib l e i n Vanoouver I .

Almost a l l p roper ty & almost everything of va lue i s owned by t h e c i t i z e n s of Van- couver I. They & t h e i r coun te rpa r t s across Canada a l s o own t h e va r ious governments, labour unions, churches, p o l i c e fo rces , cou r t s , j a i l s & armed fo rces . A l l o f t he se i n s t i t u t i o n s e x i s t t o a i d , comfort & car ry out t h e wishes of Vancouver I .

I once came t o t h e rescue of sommlwomen who were being har rassed by a man on Gran- v i l l e S t r e e t . The women took o f f i n a cab leaving me holding t h i s man down on t h e sidewalk. The p o l i c e happened along, sep- a r a t ed us & quizzed us. When they learned

, t h a t I had a job, while t h e o t h e r man was on welfare, one policeman s a i d t o me, "That's what i t ' s a l l about, i s n ' t it?" They a r r e s t e d him & hauled him away but s en t me on my merry way. The poin t is t h a t t hey took me f o r a c i t i z e n of Vancouver I because I had a job. The f a c t t h a t he was on welfare made him p a r t o f Vanxouver I1 6 t h e r e f o r e he had t o be i n t h e wrong..I was unquest ionably i n t h e r i g h t .

The primary hob of t h e po l i ce i s t o pro- t e c t t h e well-being & possess ions of those who own almost everything from those who own almost nothing. Criminal c o u r t s & j a i l have t h e same primary purpose.

The c i t i z e n s of Vancouver I eva lua t e themselves by con t r a s t i ng themselves with those of Vancouver 11. The a l coho l i c i n Shaughnessy s i p s h i s Scotch & muses: "If I was r e a l l y , s e r i o u s l y an a l c o h o l i c , I ' d be down on Skid Row dr inking Lysol.I1 The un- employed union member i s r e spec t ab l e on

- - Unemployment Insurance but c r inges a t t h e thought of i t running out & t h e n e c e s s i t y of applying f o r wel fare because he, l i k e h i s a s soc i a t e s , a ccep t s t h a t Soc i a l Assis- tance means an automatic l o s s of member- sh ip i n Vancouver I & hence, j u s t a s auto- matic, r e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i n t o Vancouver 11. The suburban housewife r e j o i c e s a s she drops a can i n t o t h e Food Bank c o l l e c t i o n box because t h a t a c t s o well emphasizes t he wide gu l f t h a t s epa ra t e s h e r from those who stand i n Food Bank l i n e s .

The CCF p o l i t i c a l p a r t y was o r i g i n a l l y a c h i l d o f t h e co-op movement. The main ben- e f i c i a r i e s of t h e co-op movement, had i t f lou r i shed , would have been t h e p o o r . . i t s success would have been t o t h e detr iment of t h e r i c h . Therefore, t h e CCF never r e a l l y got anywhere u n t i l it dumped t h e co-op ideq & a t tached i t s e l f , a s t h e NDP, t o organized labour. Thus it became a Van- couver I t ype o f pa r ty . Only then d id it begin t o succeed i n e l e c t i o n s .

Vancouver 1 c i t i z e n s & t h e i r pee r s e l s e - where do not provide wel fare because they don ' t want t h e poor t o go t o bed hungry.

They don' t do it out of love. They approve such programs. because t hey keep t h e c i t i z - ens of Vancouver I1 d o c i l e & submissive & out of t h e way. That i s what Vancouver I types want because they a r e t e r r i b l y aware of one f a c t - t h a t t h o s e . o f Vancouver 11, who own noth ing , hold a s hostage a l l of the p r o p e r i t e s & possessions owned by those who own everything. The g r e a t e s t f e a r of Vancouver I c i t i z e n s i s t h a t those of Vancouver I 1 w i l l r e a l i z e t h a t f a c t and get t oge the r t o t r a s h o r t ake possession of it a l l .

The r i o t s i n Los Angeles & Taronto un- doubtedly s en t c h i l l s down t h e sp ines of many members of t h e owning c l a s s e s & t h e i r a s p i r a n t s because those r i o t s qu ick ly t u r - ned i n t o o r g i e s o f l oo t ing & burning. .more so than r i o t s of t h e p a s t .

One wonders i f t h e handwriting i s on t h e wall s i nce those events . W i l l t hose who own nothing t ake c o l l e c t i v e ac t ion on f u t - ure occasions t o so a c t aga ins t those who own everything? Time w i l l t e l l .

By ERIC ERICKSON

- dead t

SALTY SAM.'S HAVING A PARTY S a l t y sam's p a r t y eyes i r i s wide open, j e s t jokes pecks ( t h e i r a l l Stoopid ( i d ) ) "You fucking pe rve r t " shouts o u t t a t he s t r e e t she says, "Yah, your always ava i lab le !" But GOD i s a f i s h , He wants Y 0 U 3 g i r l s thought t hey could He's having a p a r t y ( I s why where s o . . . . 1

No! ~ b ! I ' shouts o u t t a t h e s t r e e t . . . . Taum Danbee

daed t o t h e dea th i n me dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e government dead t o t h e p r e s iden t dead t o t h e a r t i s t r y dea- t o t h e f reakout s e a dead t o t he world dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e bongo drum dead t o t h e put down thumb dead t o t h e f a c t o r y t o b lue c o l l a r s l a v e r y dead t i admin i s t r a t i on t o t h e r e a l s i c k groovy na t i on dead t o money t o poison soaked i n honey t o mu l t i mu l t i mu l t i m i l l i o n a i r e s g e t ou t a my h a i r t o r e n t i n g disney f o r a mi l l i on a day t o rooks g l o r y daze dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e owrld dead t o t h e g l o r i o u s l y weilded' r a z o r sharp edge golden r u l e t o l e g i s l a t e d enforced school speakin"so n i c e g ive no water i n your cup t o suckin it up t o preachers of v a r i e t i e s a l l k inds of n o t o r i e t i e s dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e so so wise ho ly f o o l t o t h e world of white d i sgu i se t o white and black t h ink ing b l i n d e r s t o no boundaries l y ing l i p s l y ing eyes t o pa ren t s t h a t don ' t speak f o r yea r s months weeks o r when they t a l k t a l k with t h r e a t b e l t s and pa in t o a l l t h i s s t u f f goin down t h e d r a i n t o crud t h a t peaks i n me t o t h i s sad s ickening swi r l i ng s e a t o s i n ou t s ide i n s i d e me dead t o pulped t r e e s d i s r e spec t ed s laughtered animals t o po l l u t ed s k i e s dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e world dead t o t h e world dead g ive me a ca ske t l a y down and r i s e

Timothy Kirk

p- - -

MIDLIFE CRISIS # 392 I'M RUNNING 1 ITS NOT OUT OF TIME.

O V E R 'TIL IT'S OVER.

~IHOW IAN YOU HOW IAN YOU

Joan Smallwood i s a s n a i l :

Sandy Cameron, i n t h e l a s t i s s u e , camp- Glen Clark is a shark: l a i n s o f being l a b e l l e d a "consumer", & blames t h i s l anguage-a t t i tude on "big bus- i n e s s ". . .he's r i g h t o f course - but then we see Joan Smallwood i n t h e same i s sue r e f e r r i n g t o those on welfare a s "consum- e rs" of s o c i a l s e rv i ce f .

I s ou r NDP , w t t t h e same a s *'big bus i - ness"-? Not q u i t e , but t h e y ' r e g e t t i n g t he r e . In f a c t Ms. Smallwood ( I h e s i t a t e t o c a l l h e r ftThe Honourable) u se s outrage- ous ly s a n i t i z e d bus iness language - t h e kind of s t e r i l i z e d , de-humanizing word i m - ages governments have d e l i b e r a t e l y used f o r decades t o t u r n people o f f .

I t h ink they do it on purpose. I f an i n - d iv idua l i n pub l i c o f f i c e knows they must make a show of r e spons ib i l i t ym but a t t h e same time d e t e s t s t h e philosophys of t hose they must communicate with, t h e so lu t i on t o t h e i r dilemma is e a s i l y found by saying t he r i g h t t h ings i n t h e wrong language. This i s a method used by businessmen 4 governments t o hold people o f f a t arm's l ength , while covering t h e i r a s s a t t h e same time.

Here a r e same of Ms. Smallwood's phrases taken out o f contex t : "Ongoing d ia logue , ves ted i n t e r e s t , p ro fe s s iona l s i n t h e f i e l d , spec i a l i n t e r e s t advocacy, consum- e r s of our s e rv i ce s , members of t h e tax- paying p u b l i c , e s t a b l i s h an advisory coun- c i l , "support o f my co l leagues , ~ p p r o a c h my col league, p o s i t i o n papers on t he admin i s t r a t i o n , reviewing f u r t h e r op t ions , in - put t o da t e , " e t c .

Ms. Smallwood says, "1 a l s o be l i eve peo- p l e need t o be empowered so t h a t they can view themselves a s consumers of ou r s e r v i - c e s . " . . . i t t s j u s t pos s ib l e t h a t Joan Small wood, t h e human being, has been wr i t ing & speaking t h i s way f o r so long t h a t she cou ldn ' t do otherwisem even i f h e r p o l i t i - c a l c a r e e r depended o n , i t . I t h ink t h i s i s a f a r g r ea t e r* t r agedy than j u s t being on welfare .

TOR A

Everyone has heard by now o f t h e t r a g i c icc ident i n Nanaimo where a f e r r y pu l l ed %way from t h e dock while c a r s were s t i l l Loading. I t k i l l e d a mother 4 h e r daughter 5 s e r i o u s l y i n j u r e d 4 o t h e r members of t h e Family. V i s ib ly d i s t u rbed wi tnesses appea- red on t h e v ideo , demanding j u s t i c e .

Af t e r t h e BC Fer ry Corpora t ion ' s lawyers lad prevented t h e p o l i c e from ques t ion ing the crew members r e spons ib l e , 5 o t h e r i n - z idents o f unsafe docking p r a c t i c e s were iredged up t o be i n v e s t i g a t e d simultaneou- s l x with t h i s case . This convenien t ly turned t h e focus of t h e s i t u a t i o n away from t h e t e r r i b l e crime committed by neg- l i g e n t s t a f f & i n s t e a d made t h e i s s u e a general 'one o f p u b l i c s a f e t y - i . e . How can we improve your f e r r y s e rv i ce?

Ins tead o f punishment f o r c r imina l neg- l igence , t h e i s s u e i s being turned i n t o a - publ ic r e l a t i o n s b id by BC F e r r i e s . - For me, t h e f i n a l conf i rmat ion of t h i s came when I witnessed t h e Attorney General Glen Clark* on t e l e v i s i o n , say ing he would not defend t h e Fer ry corpora t ion " i f they

E -

were wmng " . . . t h a t ' s what he s a i d . (*Glen Clark i s t h e Finance Minis te r ; Colin Gableman i s Attorney General - Ed.)

Now everyone knows without a doubt t h a t t h e boat pu l l ed away while t h e c a r s were s t i l l loading! ... No one denys t h i s - a l s o , no one can deny t h a t h t e s e dea ths & i n j u r - i e s were a d i r e c t r e s u l t o f t h i s f a c t .

But Clark says ' I . . . i f they were wrong"! . ..how wrong can t h e y g e t , Glen?. . .We know you always choose your words c a r e f u l l y when appearing on camera, & t h a t you a l - ways comb your h a i r & sh ine your shoes & t ake g r e a t pa in s t o appear t o be a f a i r & j u s t Attorney General - but t h i s i s r i d i c - ulous. I t h i n k t h e cap t a in & crew should be he ld under water f o r 15 minutes thems- e lve s , j u s t t o s e e how they l i k e i t . i TOM ;

The o ld i n v i s i b l e v e r t i c a l s , motion on- l y apparent when it occurs sidewaus- s e l f

i a s some kind of tower without l e v e l s , ( without f l o o r s . Boundaries v i s i b l e , but / t h e v i b r a t i n g column of a i r i s impatient

and unnamed, f i n g e r l e s s . Luminescient t r e e s of dark t h i r t y -

poles l i k e s t r i pped supports f o r some huge bui ld ing , some fo rgo t t en , decayed in- s t i t u t i o n - only t h e whites l e f t , symbols of a new, cleanerm s p a r s e r method of ex- change. And another l i g h t begins t o s p i l l ; whi te r , warmer, f u l l of sound, t r a f f i c moving i n & around. In a l l t he se res iden- c e s t h e var iega ted b reak fa s t smells r i s e 6 - f a l l . Soon, t h e r e w i l l come t h e harsh, c lean odors of c l eanse r s , & r ad io noise .

I remember one morning i n t h e bookstore where I worked, l i s t e n i n g t o t h e r ad io news, wondering when t h e snow would come, December 7, 1989.

A co lde r wind came down t h e nervous s t r e e t . A l l t h a t l o s t n a t u r a l medicine,

* a l l t h e fo rgo t t en n e c e s s i t i e s of t h e ' green & v ib ran t world, which it has taken

s o many c e n t u r i e s t o bury, seemed s e t t o

invade t h e c i t y from t h e d i s t a n t h i l l s , seemed poised t o repossess us.

I t was only wishful th inking , however. , This s t e r i l e , blood-mad & empty hungering i s ou r i nhe r i t ance . I remember t h e witch & I love t h e witch, but we w i l l no longer accomplish t h e s imples t love i n t h i s p lace . The s a c r i f i c e s t h a t a r e necessary, which a r e not s a c r i f i c e s of o t h e r s but of ou r obscene p r i v i l e g e , a r e everywhere made more & more unl ike ly , more & more convulsive; l e s s & l e s s do they appear t o make sense o r even t o be o t h e r than f u t - i l e , f o r no context remains f o r them.

Where community i s , r e a l community, t h e r e poss ib ly one can ask t h e r i g h t ques t ions & a c t upon t h i s kr3wledge.

Empty towers, v i b r a t i n g columns of nameless, interchangeable a i l .

1 wonder i f anything can ever be impos- s i b l e again: i f perhaps t h e unbound & con- sequent ly un f rus t r a t ed & d i s i n h e r i t e d s e l f can, i n i t s freedom, choose e x i l e from those precar ious , deadly towers.. . then t h e ho r ro r may not be our f i n a l , choking dec l a r a t i on .

By DANIEL FEENEY

Native Se l f Government

Nature does have a c e r t a i n capac i ty f o r r epa i r i ng i t s e l f from the damage caused by humanity. Unfortunately, humanity's appet-

. i t e f o r resources along with a s e l f - d e t e r - mined, presumed adequate program t o r e p a i r

I the environment i s not adequate enough. r Nature ' s a b i l i t y t o r e p a i r and rep len ish

i s being sever8~yccurtai~ed's~y:~humanit;$!s i n a b i l i t y o t e x t r a c t resources o f necess i - t y without d i s tu rb ing the n a t u r a l o rder .

To prevent t h e c r ipp l ing of na ture , a - c e r t a i n balance must be achieved. One of

the.\most important purposes of n a t i v e s e l f gobernment i s t o teach and promote t he changes needed t o br ing about lthe balance between na tu re and humanity.

The na t ive peoples be l i eve t h a t t h e ind- u s t r i a l revolu t ion has c rea ted p o s i t i v e & bene f i c i a l t echnologies and these achieve-

ments should be and can be progressed upon without severe ly d a m ~ i n g na ture . For too many years t he advances of i n d u s t r i a l i z a - t i o n have not been very c i v i l . Many envi r - onmental problems were over-1;oked and now everybody and everything on t h e p lane t ' s u f f e r s because of t he short-s ightedness.

Native self-government i s ? p o s i t i v e s t e p toward helping t h e i r peoples.

Who i s going t o he lp t he r e s t of soc ie ty? Perhaps t h e next s t e p t o take should be

t o welcome and allow the na t ive peoples t o apply t h e i r a b i l i t i e s t o prove t h a t prop- e r l y maintained indus t ry and na ture can co-exis t . But would they go f o r i t ?

I f we a r e fo r tuna t e , t h e window of opp- o r t u n i t y might openfbr t he r e s t of us t o l ea rn something from t h e wisdom of t h e na t ive peoples.

By PETER BALDASSI

I TI1EkVICE ,UNDERGROUND GUYS .F, & G Y ~

IN k SECIfET TVtMEL UflDER THE CARNEGIE CENTHE 5& R A Y v5,

,A-------------------------------, TIIE IEIYTHG WILL COHE TO OROER You a l l know why your here I h o t r .

Hey! Get u p i Guys with v ideo c a n t r a s a r e conirlg t o show , what you look l ~ k e passed out OI I t h e ~ l d t w i ~ l k . Iley' The Cops

THE HEETIllC #ILL COME 1'0 OllDER You d l l k r m why your here I lroye

Ye a r e g o ~ n ' t o r m u e drunks and dopers who p a s s ou t on o u r s t r e e t s . Hake therr ~ r l v ~ s ~ h l e t o tbc v ideo cdmerli~en out t o sldke rverybody t h i n k a 1 1 welfdre r t c e l p l e n t s d r e l l k e t t ~ c c .

Good, you got i t . Louie w i l l g l v e you your uniforms. Ye wanna blend wi th t h e s t r e e t people hut s t a n d out s o t h a t t h e drunk o r doper won't nark I us f o r s p y s .

Huh! ! ! ! ! What?! What!? Where? Hey

I d o n ' t s e e any Cops. I

0

Y e d . Ve bought t h e v ideos o t o r d ~ r r a r y Wed. Welfare r e c e ~ p l e n t s paying t l ~ e ~ r r e n t s , t h e r r bl!ls a ~ r d t r y ~ n y t o buy d few groceries wi th whats l e f t

1 ' Cone on . We d o n ' t want you on t v . Hear what I 'u s a y l n g . We d o n ' t w ~ n t no w e l t a r e Wed. guys cought on v ideo . Hove. I And I got v ~ d e o s of those same r e c e i p ~ e n t s d t food bdnks and soup l i n e s . Tlruse should hore t h e t v s t a t l o n s t o p l e c e s bllt the11 r o r e r e d l .

WASP, GRASSHOPPERS TWO CRABS STRUGGLING wasp, g rasshoppers two c r a b s s t r u g g l i n g i n t h e sand one found shade t h e o t h e r might o f p e r i s h e d bu t I took bo th of 'em t o t h e w a t e r ' s edge nex t wave *wept them away Gone Home.

Taum Danbee

Okay, now s t a r t w r i t i n g

Your m o t h e r ' s l i f e i s

on t h e l i n e .

F i r s t Nat ions

Never Sur render .

E l i z a b e t h Thorpe

\

Bush S t a t u e Committee 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, D.C.

She claims t o have been V i s i t ed by a human being

From Outer Space

In f a c t , i n h e r case Three d i f f e r e n t t imes

Once i n youthfu l c l imes - Once a t a t e e n dance

And during d ivorce evidence?

. Why me?" she asks , wondering, s ad ly tWhy?81 I t e l l h e r g l a d l y

"So t h a t you can proclaim That t hey a r e he re Hiding up t h e r e ! "

Dear Friend, 1 We have t h e d i s t i ngu i shed honor of being I 1 on a committee f o r r a i s i n g $5 mi l l i on f o r I p lac ing a s t a t u e of George Bush i n t he ' Hall o f Fame i n Washington. D.C.

This committee was i n a quandry - where

i t o p l ace t he s t a t u e . I t was not wise t o p l ace it bes ide t h e s t a t u e of George Wash- ington, who never t o l d a l i e , nor bes ide Richard Nixon, who never t o l d t h e t r u t h , s i n c e Bush could never t e l l t h e d i f f e r ence ' We f i n a l l y decided t o p laoe it bes ide Chr i s topher Columbus, The Grea tes t of them a l l . He l e f t no t knowing where he was go- i ng 6 upon a r r i v i n g d i d n ' t know where he was. He re turned not knowing where he had been, & d id it a l l on borrowed money.

Over 5000 yea r s age Moses s a i d t o t h e ch i l d r en of I s r a e l , "Pick up your shovels ,

But t o shout h e r b e l i e f The t r u t h . Bel ieve. Bel ieve.

Dora Sanders

' you t o t h e Promised Land." Nearly 5000 y r s 1 l a t e r , Roosevelt s a i d , "Lay down your sho- 1 v e l s , s i t on your a s se s , l i g h t up a Camel, I t h i s is t h e Promised Land."

Now Bush i s s t e a l i n g your shovels , kick- ing your asses , r a i s i n g t h e p r i c e of your Camels 6 mortgaging t h e Promised Land. I f you a r e one of t h e f o r t u n a t e people who has any money l e f t a f t e r paying taxes , we w i l l expect a generous donat ion a s a con t r - i bu t i on t o t h i s worthwhile p r e j e c t .

I .M.Dunn, Secre ta ry .

P . S. : I t i s s a i d t h a t Pres ident Bush i s con- s i d e r i n g changing t h e Republican Par ty em- blem from an e lephant t o a condom. I t s tands f o r i n f l a t i o n , p r o t e c t s a bunch of p r i c k s , h a l t s product ion & g ives a f a l s e sense of s e c u r i t y while one i s being

'Dear Folks' seems kind of corny; maybe it w i l l g e t you t o read t h i s through. Free Trade is a sord id t a l e of what " the

f i x i s onv & "the prospec ts f o r peace a r e awful" mean. This a r t i c l e appeared i n 5 p a r t s i n a weekly paper c a l l e d The Georg- i an i n S tephenvi l le , Nfld. A s a North Am- - e r i can Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) may become law, it i s important t h a t bkain- washing & l i e s & corpora te media propag- anda not be allowed t o b u l l s h i t people a s it d id i n 1988.

bobbing for

.. Free Trade (Par t 1) : The h i s t o r y '

The Independent, a s e l f -desc r ibed journ- a l f o r thought fu l Canadians, published an in te rv iew with David Orchard, chairman of C i t i zens Concerned About Free Trade(CCAFT. I t was f i r s t p r i n t e d i n 1989 a f t e r t h e Free Trade Agreement between Canada 6 t h e US became law. The Independent r e c e n t l y p r in t ed a second in te rv iew with Orchard, who i s a farmer i n Saskatchewan.

Orchard p a i n t s a s ca ry p i c t u r e of Canada which he descr ibes a s an underdeveloped colony with vas t p o t e n t i a l t o become a g rea t & independent na t ion , bu t has no o rgmised , , l e ade r sh ip t o accomplish t h a t .

The U.S. has always held a concept of Manifest Destiny - t h a t it was t h e Ameri- can des t i ny t o cont ro l a l l of North Amer- i ca . The only country t h a t has invaded Canada m i l i t a r i l y i s t h e US, propel led by i t s Manifest Destiny idea. I t invaded du- r i ng the American Revolution i n 1775 ,cap- t u r ing Montreal & being defea ted i n Que- bec Ci ty . I t invaded i n t h e War o f 1812 & was stopped by an a l l i a n c e of Canadians & Aboriginal people. In 1870, American Fen- i a n s invaded & were stopped by Louis Riel and h i s Metis army.

Mi l i t a ry opt ions were c l e a r l y not work4

ing, so t h e Americans began at tempting t o invade economically, through f r e e t r a d e dea l s . Canada had i t s f i r s t f r e e t r a d e e l e c t i o n i n 1891, says Orchard. The Amer- ican Senate passed a b i l l f o r commercial union with Canada & pressured t h e Libera l Pa r ty t o adopt a p o l i c y of " f u l l & unres- t r i c t e d r e c i p r o c i t y . l American money flow- ed i n t o Canada t o support t h e L ibe ra l s during t h e e l e c t i o n , bu t t h e p e r s o n a l i t y of Canada's 1st prime min i s t e r , S i r John A. MacDonald, succeeded i n de fea t ing t h e dea l 6 winning t h e e l e c t i o n .

In 1911 t h e Americans again negot ia ted a dea l with t h e Libera l Par ty t o support a f r e e t r a d e agreement. Under p re s su re from Canadian c i t i z e n s ' groups & bus iness l ea - ders , t h e Conservat ives under Robert Bor- den opposed t h e dea l & won t h e e l ec t ion .

In 1891, f r e e t r a d e was defea ted by a margin of 4% o f t h e vote. In 1911 it was defeated by t h r e e p e r cent . Around 1985 t h e US again approached Can-

ada about a f r e e t r a d e dea l . (The T r i l a t - e r a l Commission was & i s t h e engineering force - Ed.) A popular misconception[says Orchard) . is t h a t t h e Canadian gov ' t app- roached .the US. Not t r u e , bu t t h e Americ- ans knew it would f a i l i f Canadians knew it was an American proposal . So then-Am- e r i can ambassador t o Canada Paul Robinson pushed Canadian b ig bus iness organiza t ion (many Canadian i n name only) t o support f r e e t r ade .

Around t h e same time, t h e Toronto S t a r published a s e c r e t gov ' t document o u t l i n - ing s t r a t e g y t o promote f r e e t r a d e . The

govl t be l ieved t h e h igher p r o f i l e t he i s s - ue a t t a i n e d , t h e l e s s l i k e l y i t ' d be app- roved by t h e publ ic . S t r a t egy , t he r e fo re , was t o avoid educat ing t he pub l i c about t he dea l & j u s t t r y t o s e l l t h e idea t h a t it was a good i n i t i a t i v e .

I t a l s o c a l l e d f o r Prime Minis te r Brian m l r o n e y t o avoid mentioning job l o s s e s , t o d i s c r e d i t oppos i t ion MPs who r a i s e d concerns about t h e d e a l , & t o i s o l a t e 4

groups opposed t o t h e t a l k s . "Benign neg l ec t from the major i ty of Can-

ad ians may be t h e r e a l i s t i c outcome of a well-executed communications program."

When the Mulroney gov ' t f i n a l l y succumbed t o p u b l i c p r e s su re & held an e l e c t i o n i n t he f a l l of 1988, it was b a s i c a l l y a r e f - erendum on t h e Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

In t h a t e l e c t i o n , says Orchard, t h e dea l was defea ted by Canadians. Some 55% voted f o r p a r t i e s opposed t o t h e dea l , while 43%

I voted f o r t h e Tor ies & f r e e t r ade . The 12% margin was t he l a r g e s t ever Cana-

d ian vo t e aga in s t f r e e t r a d e . When the NDP - 4 t h e L ibe ra l s gave up t h e f i g h t aga in s t

f r e e t r a d e because t he Tor ies had won a ma jo r i t y of s e a t s i n t h e House of Commons, - they betrayed t h e ma jo r i t y of Canadians who had voted f o r them t o oppose t h e dea l .

Free Trade (Par t 2) : The Deal

David Orchard & CCAFT f e l t Mulroneyls gov- ernment was purposely keeping Canadians i n t he dark about f r e e t r a d e before t h e 1988 e l ec t i on . So it ~ r o d u c e d Free Trade: The Full S to ry t o irkorm Canadians about t h e dangers of t h e dea l .

same propor t ion it was tak ing before , even if we don ' t have enough t o supply Canada. The US doesn ' t agree t o share i t s energy.

Energy was t h e one t h ing Canada had t o compete with t h e US with, sa-ls Orchard. The S t a t e s has c l ima te & a b igger populat- ion, but energy could have be :n used t o make Canada a major i n d u s t r i a l competitor. Not anymore.

The agreement a l s o e l im ina t e s r egu l a t i ons t h a t s t a t e d Canadian companies couldn ' t s e l l energy t o t h e US f o r s u b s t a n t i a l l y l e s s than what t h e Americans would have paid from domestic sources. While t h a t sounds l i k e it c rea t ed a f r e e & f a i r mark- e t , t h e r e a l i t y is t h a t t h e Canadian comp- a n i e s a r e s u b s i d i a r i e s of American paren t corpora t ions & they can now s e l l Canada's energy t o themselves f o r a s l i t t l e a s they want.

In Chapter 17 we g ive away our banks says Orchard. Before Free Trade none of our fed- e r a l l y l i cenced banks o r f i n a n c i a l i n s t i t - u t i o n s , inc lud ing t h e 5 major banks, could be more than 25% foreign-ownei; f o r e ign I

banks opera t ing i n Canada could not cont r -

hat 43% of v o t e r s i n t h e '88 e l e c t i o n voted Tory seems t o i n d i c a t e t h a t a t l e a s t 43% of t h e v o t e r s d i d n ' t read t h i s book. With t h e dea l t h e US is going ahead with

, i t s self-proclaimed d e s t i n y without t h e mess of war & it has powerful a l l i e s with- i n Canada, inc lud ing our p o l i t i c a l l e ade r s .

1 A s Orchard says: "Canada agrees t o a one- 1 way shar ing of energy with t h e US. A l l

o l more than 16% of domestic banking ass - e t s i n Canada. NOW American banks (under a r t . 1703) can t ake over 100% of Canadian banks. Canada changed 12 of i t s banking laws under t h e agreement.

"Once we l o s e con t ro l o f our banks, t h i s w i l l be t he n a i l i n t he c o f f i n f o r Canada because once our banks a r e fo r e ign cont- r o l l e d they w i l l owe t h e i r a l l eg i ance not t o t h e Canadian g o v l t bu t t o t h e g o v l t in Washington," wr i t e s Orchard.

Canada is a l r eady t h e most fore ign domi- na ted of any of t h e i n d u s t r i a l i s e d count- r i e s i n t h e world, most of it American owned. A r t i c l e 1602 prevents u s from screening any new American investment, from i n s i s t i n g t h a t Americans use any lo- c a l resources , i n d u s t r i e s o r labour , o r from favouring Canadian companies i n any way through gov ' t c o n t r a c t s , g r a n t s o r t a x a t i o n p o l i c i e s .

A s i m i l a r arrangement e x i s t s i n t h e s e r - v i c e i ndus t ry s e c t o r a s a whole, which accounts f o r 70% of t h e jobs i n t h e coun- t r y & inc ludes every th ing a p a r t from p r i - mary & secondary indus t ry . The l ist of

0.

' forms of energy a r e included i n t h e dea l - o i l , gas , uranuim, e l e c t r i c a l energy, coa l & water. Canada agreed t o never charge t h e US more f o r energy than i t charges Canadi- ans ( a r t . 903 & 904). In a r t . 904 we a l s o agreed t h a f , i n t h e event of a shor tage we must share our energy with t h e US i n t h e

A s e r v i c e s included i n t h e FTA (over 100 pages o f t h e document) covers anything you can t h ink of i n , t o name a few, t h e food, beverage, drug, tobacco, banking, tourism, r e a l e s t a t e , en te r ta inment , i n s - urance, h e a l t h & s o c i a l s e r v i c e s , p r i n t - ing & publ i sh ing , a g r i c u l t u r e , cons t ruc t - ion 6 bu i ld ing t r a d e s i n d u s t r i e s . . .

(Orchard no t e s t h a t t h e r e ' s a cur ious exemption from the l is t - t h e lawyers d r a f t i n g it removed themselves from t h e f i n a l t e x t . )

The dea l f o r c e s i nd iv idua l p rovinces i n Canada t o t r e a t American co rpo ra t i ons a s i f they come from t h a t province, while s t i l l allowing d i s c r imina t i on aga in s t o t h e r Canadian provinces.

One of Mulroney's b i g s e l l i n g p o i n t s o f f r e e t r a d e was t h a t i t ' d exempt Canada from US f a i r t r a d i n g laws & give Canada secure access t o American markets. Well, says Orchard, t h a t d i d n ' t happen. Under t he FTA - the US r e t a ined a l l i t s t r a d e law aga in s t Canada & r e se rves t h e r i g h t t o make them tougher i f they so choose.

So t he US g e t s t h e r i g h t t o a c t aga in s t any Canadian imports any time it wants. What does Canada g e t ? The r i g h t t o appeal t o a panel any t r a d e r u l i n g t h e S t a t e s may make. But t he panel has no power t o enforce any of i t s r u l i n g s & can only r u l e on whether t h e S t a t e s has broken any of i t s own laws.

" I f t h e Americans a r e going t o ignore World Court r u l i n g s a t The Hague (when it ru l ed aga in s t t he US mining of harbours i n Nicaragua) I don ' t know what makes Mr. Mulroney t h ink t h e Americans a r e going t o l i s t e n t o a t o o t h l e s s panel with two Can- adians s i t t i n g on it, t e l l i n g them what t o do about t h e i r t r a d e law."

Free .Trade (Par t 3 ) : The af te rmath

Free Trade .Ias so ld t o Canadians ( a l - though 55% opted not t o buy) on promises of increased p rospe r i t y . Mulroney promis- ed i t ' d b r ing new weal th & new jobs. In ac tua l f a c t jobs a r e vanishing a t t h e r a t e of 2,000 a day, says Orchard. In March '91 0 r c h a r G a i d Canada had l o s t 290,000 f a c t o r y jobs - c l o s e t o 15% of t h e manufacturing s ec to r . In a r ecen t con ve r sa t i on Orchard s a i d i t ' s now 500,000

jobs..about 20% of t h e manufacturing s e c t - o r . These l o s s e s a r e permanent, he says, & not a r e s u l t of t h e recess ion . Free t r a d e w i l l b r i ng more investment t o

Canada which w i l l make t h e country grow.. was another promise. In f a c t , American branch p l a n t s a r e p u l l i n g ou t of Canada & Canadian investment i s going south t o buy o r bu i l d p l a n t s i n t h e S t a t e s . Some 96% of new American investment s i n c e f r e e t r a d e a r e takeovers of e x i s t i n g Canadian compan- i e s . In 1989, t h e f i r s t year of t h e dea l , takeovers of Canadian companies were up 400%, mostly by American corpora t ions .

Personal & bus iness bankruptc ies a l s o in - creased sharp19 i n t h e f i r s t 2 FTA-years.

Canadians were a l s o promised secure, un- r e s t r i c t e d access t o American markets. In- s t e ad , says Orchard, we have faced more t r a d e harassment than be fo re . S t e e l , durum wheat, f i s h , l o b s t e r s , pork, softwood, kce cream, r a s p b e r r i e s , yogur t , beer , po t a toe s & o t h e r expor t s have faced t r a d e a c t i o n s 6 border harassment.

We were supposed t o g e t cheaper s e r v i c e s 6 goods. However, p r i c e s i n '89 rose more than a t any time i n the previous 4 years . On top of it t h e GST has added 7% (more i n Nfld, s i nce t h e p rov .gov t t t a x e s t h e GST) t o almost every t r a n s a c t i o n i n Canada.

---- The GST comes from f r e e t r ade , says Orch-

a rd , p a r t l y a s a means t o r ep l ace t h e $7 b i l l i o n l o s t t o t h e g o v ' t i n t a r i f f reven- ues (removed under f r e e t r a d e ) , & p a r t l y a s a r e s u l t of Canada removing t h e Manuf- a c t u r r s ' Sa l e s Tax t o br ing corpora te t a x i n l i n e with t h a t i n t h e US. Any cheaper goods a r e being bought i n t h e

S t a t e s through c ross -border shopping. Free Trade was supposed t o i nc r ea se t r a d e ,

making Canada & Canadians r i c h e r . When t h e nego t i a t i ons began, Canada so ld $20b i l l i on more i n goods than we bought. That su rp lu s has dropped t o almost zero, while t he de f -

icit i n s e r v i c e s has increased a l l over . Agr i cu l t u r e i s another sad s t o r y f o r Can-

ada. We produce 5 times more wheat than we can consume, y e t we have begun t o import American wheat t o make our bread. Why? Be- cause US wheat i s c l o s e r t o c e n t r a l Canada f l o u r m i l l s , which w i l l buy t h e sheaper US wheat while Canadian wheat goes wasted f o r lack of markets, says Orchard. Canada i s f ac ing t he sys temat ic d e s t r u c t -

ion of i t s a b i l i t y t o be s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t in food, a phenomenon seen i n o t h e r US- dominated coun t r i e s . A s examples, Orchard c i t e s I r an (a major wheat producer t h a t be gan t o import American wheat under t he Shah's regime) 4 Vietnam (which began imp- o r t i n g American r i c e during t h e Vietnam War d e s p i t e being t h e r i c e basket o f t h e world).

T h e FTA has given t h e US t h e kind of con t ro l over t h e Canadian economy i t was only a b l e t o secure i n o t h e r coun t r i e s by m i l i t a r y i n t e rven t ion , " w r i t e s Orchard.

I t has a l s o a f f e c t e d our fo r e ign po l i cy , - he main ta ins , a l though Mulroney promised i t wouldn't . Orchard f i n d s it odd t h a t Canada joined t h e Organizat ion of American

L S t a t e s ( a body we had always avoided be- cause of i t s domination by t he US) i n t h e same yea r t h a t f r e e t r a d e began. Then we supported t h e American invasion

of Panama, al though it was a v i o l a t i o n of i n t e r n a t i o n a l law. Then we turned around & supported t h e American-led war aga in s t I raq , sending Canadian warships 6 a i r c r a f t

I t o t h e Pers ian Gulf t o ope ra t e under d i r - e c t American command. Perhaps more d i s t u r b i n g , t h e announce-

. ment of ou r involvement i n t h e Gulf was made by t h e American Sec re t a ry of S t a t e 2

. hours before Mulroney s t a t e d t h e f a c t . ' "The growing US con t ro l o f Canadian f o r - eign po l i cy stems d i r e c t l y from American

(cont ro l of our economy, w r i t e s Orchard.

Free Trade (Pa r t 4) : Mexico

In 1990, Mexican p re s iden t Carlos Sa l i n - a s announced Mexico would be nego t i a t i ng a f r e e t r a d e agreement with t h e United S t a t e s . Like Mulroney, Sa l i na s repea ted ly s a i d before Mexico's 1988 e l e c t i o n t h a t he was aga in s t f r e e t r a d e with them. (He l o s t t h e e l e c t i o n , had h i s s o l d i e r s s e i z e b a l l o t boxes, murder opponents, 6 dec l a r - ed himself t h e winner - Ed.) Mexico, l i k e Canada, has a .-enuous r e l a -

t i o n s h i p with t h e S t a t e s . Last year Rafael Mondragon, A Mexican

s o c i a l j u s t i c e advocate, v i s i t e d Nfld t o spread t h e work of Mexican oppos i t ion t o f r e e t r a d e wi th t h e US. He t a lked about Mexico's h i s t o r i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p with t h e S t a t e s . The US has taken over 50% of Mex- i c o ' s t e r r i t o r y ( inc luding Ca l i fo rn i a & Texas) over t h e l a s t 2 c e n t u r i e s . The S t a t e s has a l s o in te rvened m i l i t a r i l y i n Mexico over 400 t imes .

Free Trade wi th Mexico would complete t h e US'S Manifest Destiny o f con t ro l over North America. The b ig appeal t o them of g e t t i n g Mexico i n t o a North American f r e e t r a d e zone i s i t s cheap labour. Mexico h a s 20 mi l l i on people unemployed o r under employed.

Liam Grayer of CCAFT p u t s i t t h i s way: "(The Mexican gov ' t ) p ropos ts t o t u r n .

Mexico i n t o a ' f r e e market ' sweat shop, s e l l i n g Mexico's people a s nea r s lave l a - bour t o American & Canadian companies. Mexico's p lace i n t h e American empire w i l l be a s s u p p l i e r o f cheap labour, com- plementing Canada's r o l e as resource cow"

Mulroney cont inues h i s r o l e a s America's flunky. In March 1990 he went t o Mexico p r a i s i n g t h e e f f e c t of f r e e t r a d e on Can- a d a ' s economy, saying it has c r ea t ed over 200,000 jobs.

S t a t i s t i c s ~ r o v i d e d by t h e CCAFT & Me1 Hur t ig i n hi; book he- Betrayal of Canada about how many jobs have been l o s t would . - i n d i c a t e Mulroney i s ly ing . I know t h i s comes a s a shock [ s i c ) bu t we must f ace r e a l i t y .

Free Trade has been bad f o r Canada, and t h e i nc lu s ion of Mexico would make it worse. "A f r e e t r a d e agreement with Mexi- co would f i n i s h o f f whatever secondary

0

0 manufacturing i n d u s t r i e s t h a t were ab l e t o su rv ive t h e FTA." (Orchard)

I t seems l i k e a reasonable conclusion. Orchard po in t s ou t t h a t bus inesses w i l l have a choice of s e t t i n g up i n Canada and paying $8 t o $15 an hour, p l u s vaca t ion pay, s o c i a l & h e a l t h bene f i t s & education t axes - o r s e t t i n g up i n Mexico & paying 604 an hour with v i r t u a l l y no b e n e f i t s or union p ro t ec t ion . Tough dec is ion t o make f o r a bus iness .

But t h i s i s n ' t j u s t about p r o t e c t i n g t h e a l ready ravaged Canadian manufacturing indus t ry . I t i s , more impor tan t ly , about p ro t ec t ing q u a l i t y of l i f e & human r i g h t s i n Mexico.

Farael Mondragon has worked a s a s o c i a l a c t i v i s t i n Mexico f o r over 20 years , l a r ge ly on behalf of Mexico's exp lo i t ed Ind i an populat ion i n a c l imate of i nc reas ing inca rce ra t i on , t o r t u r e & as sa s ina t ion . He has seen f r i e n d s k i l l e d f o r t h e i r p o l i t i c a1 a c t i v i t i e s & been imprisoned himself . He cont inues t o speak out because h i s mes sage i s important. So don ' t d i smiss him a a paranoid crank. Mexico has had a small f o r e t a s t e o f f r e e

t r a d e with t h e US through i t s maquila f a c t o r i e s . The American-owned f a c t o r i e s pay between 40 6 604 an hour t o Mexican work- e r s who produce ind iv idua l p a r t s of l a r g e

I products . The p a r t s a r e then shipped t o t h e S t a t e s where they a r e assembled & so11 a s an American product a t American p r i c e s The f a c t o r i e s a r e not sub jec t t o environ

mental r e s t r i c t i o n s & ge t away with p o l l u t i n g t h a t wouldn't be allowed in t h e US o: Canada.

The Mexican gbv ' t has a n e a t , but i l l e g a p r a c t i c e of f i r i n g unionised employees whc ask f o r h igher wages, then re-open t h e f a c t o r y t he next day with new employees. This does not apply t o t h e maquila f a c t o r . i e s , however, s i nce t he workers i n them . a r e not unionized.

A f r e e t r a d e dea l w i l l h u r t t h e environ- ment, endanger Mexico's sovre ignty & i n - c r ea se human r i g h t s abuses t h e r e .

Free Trade (Par t 5) :

I t seems obvious t h a t f r e e t r a d e with thc S t a t e s has had, t o unde r s t a t e , a harmful

: f f ec t on Canada's economy. But what we, 3s Canadians, have t o come t o terms with is t h a t t h e Free Trade Agreement e s s e n t i - a l l y proclaims t h e demise of Canada a s an independent country; an independence we iave only had a t e n t a t i v e hold on s i n c e the 1920s when lowering o f t a r i f f s began t o erode ou r manufacturing indus t ry . But f r e e t r a d e i s i n l i n e with t h e i n t e r -

na t iona l s p i r i t o f t h e t ime. Look a t Euro- pe, knocking down i t s n a t i o n a l b a r r i e r s t o al low f o r more e f f i c i e n t economic i n t e r - ac t ion . Look a t Mexico (o r i t s gov ' t ) c l a - mouring t o become a p a r t o f a North Ameri- can f r e e t r a d e zone.(& Cent ra l America & South America - t h e t r a n s n a t i o n a l corps . ) The argument t h a t Canada should

f r e e t r a d e because most o t h e r coun t r i e s a r e doing it ignores t h e r e a l ques t ion of who b e n e f i t s ? From t h e evidence i t ' d seem i n Canada

l a rge corpora t ions , a l r eady mostly Americ- an owned, a r e t h e only ones b e n e f i t t i n g from f r e e t r a d e .

i

I suspec t t h e same r e s u l t s w i l l come from l i b e r a l i s e d t r a d e around t h e world. The :a economic e l i t e s i n each country w i l l bene- f i t enormously & t h e y ' l l t r y t o convince everyone e l s e t h a t we a l l b e n e f i t . 1

Because communism proved i n e f f e c t u a l eco- nomically, t h e Cold War has ended. The US i s promoting a new world of peace & secur- i t y . That peace & s e c u r i t y , however, w i l l , apply mostly t o ensure an e f f i c i e n t i n t e r -

'

na t iona l economy, while economic warfare i s waged aga ins t t h e v a s t major i ty of t h e worldi s populat ion.

Perhaps t h i s g ives a more r e a l p i c t u r e of t h e new world order . S t a t i s t i c s i n d i c a t e t h a t under t h e conserva t ive regimes of Reagan & Bush over t h e p a s t 10 yea r s , low- e r & middle c l a s s Americans've l o s t l a r g e percentages of t h e i r r e a l income. In con- , t r a s t , t h e r e a l incomes of t h e r i c h e s t 1%

of Americans have increased by some a s t - ronomical amount.

So f r e e t r a d e may b r ing us cheaper beer . That ' s g r e a t . I t w i l l a l s o br ing u s (we have a l ready seen t h e beginnings) lousy medicare, & un l ivab le unemployment r a t e s & welfare a s s i s t a n c e . What's t o be done? The f i r s t t h ing 'd be

t o end t h e FTA. The dea l has a c l ause I

I

whereby e i t h e r t h e US o r Canada can g e t of it wi th s i x months n o t i c e .

NOW can t h a t be accomplished? By d e f e a t - ing t h e Tory g o v ' t c u r r e n t l y i n power.

For t h e C i t i z e n s Concerned About Free Trade t h a t means convincing t h e L ibe ra l s 6 t h e NDP t o form a c o a l i t i o n i n t h e next e l e c t i o n whereby they d o n ' t run candida t - e s a g a i n s t each o t h e r , t o avoid s p l i t t i n g t h e vo te a s t hey d id l a s t t ime. (No one i s s o s t u p i d a s t o ask Reform - Ed.) Remember t h a t 55% of Canadian v o t e r s

I voted a g a i n s t f r e e t r a d e i n t h e '88 e l e c - t i o n , bu t because t h e oppos i t i on p a r t i e s ( s p l i t t h e v o t e t h e Tor i e s ended up with a huge ma jo r i t y of s e a t s i n t h e House of

1 Commons. They took t h a t a s a mandate t o go ahead wi th f r e e t r a d e , & n e i t h e r t h e

' NDP nor t h e L ibe ra l s s d i d much about it. A c o a l i t i o n seems u n l i k e l y F f r e e t r a d e

s l i p s from t h e p o l i t i c a l agenda i n l i g h t of Quebec & t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n .

I By CHISHOLM POTHIER

*** Big bus ines s h a s - p u t enough money in - t o t h e L ibe ra l Pa r ty t o ensure t h a t

e i t h e r t hey o r t h e Tor i e s w i l l cont inue f r e e t r ade . Chre t ien F t h e p a r t y l eade r s ( a t Alymer, Quebec) agreed t o buy i n t o t h e co rpo ra t e agenda, making t h e o f f i c i a l p l a t fo rm one o f " r enego t i a t i on" ... l i k e say ing you ' r e going t o change a f l a t on a c a r going 90 m i l e s an hour over a c l i f f . The Reform Pa r ty i s more b i g bus iness o r - i e n t e d than t h e Tor i e s . Under i t s sk in of p u b l i c r e l a t i o n s & image & speeches i s a r e a l danger t o b a s i c j u s t i c e & freedom f o r most Canadians. They r e sp re sen t t h e l u n a t i c f r i n g e elements of s o c i e t y .

The NDP has an o f f i c i a l p o l i c y o f abrog- a t i n g t h e FTA. The Tor i e s don ' t g ive a s h i t about who has been h u r t ; t h e y ' r e gung-ho f o r t h e NAFTA!l& a r e q u i t e w i l l i n g t o be mouthpieces f o r t h e i r co rpo ra t e bosses . Passing t h e FTA was j u s t t h e i r first s t e p i n a co rpo ra t e b l u e p r i n t f o r changing Canada from an independent coun- t r y t o a colony of US t r a n s n a t i o n a l s .

One food e f f e c t of a l l t h i s i s profound

These f i n a l Indian summer days get me out of t h i s body of c e l l s . So, from deep i n t he h e a r t of t h i s ce l l -b lock l i v i n g , I b--ing you up-to- da t e on my ' 9 2 J u l y Jou rna l , bezore I s t a r t se rv ing t h i s l i f e sen tence unlo-king t h i s p r i - son f o r t h e publ ic -a t - la rge t o br ing you humor from t h e b e s t Medicine Man.. . "I appear below f o r what t h e f o o l has t o say

t o u -a l l , f o r breaking out of my C e l l i e on par- o l e on July ~ 2 , 1992. Was awakened by th ings us- i ng my h a i r t o swing up t o t h e bedtop, screech- ing! Looked & 2 baby mice were using my h a i r t o swing up & t r y t o grab hold of my p l a s t i c bag pas t ry t i e d on t h e head of my bed, holding r a i - s i n bread goodies. To & f r o they were swinging a l l n i g h t waking m e i n t o r e a l i t y & c u t t i n g my h a i r o f f i n t h e morning. Now I ' m t h e Bald Eagle Chief-of-Staff. Don't make a foo l out of me.

NAFTA - the North American. Free Trade Agreement

NO! . a. - Don't sign it!

Hear Maude Barlow (Chair of the Council of Canadians)

and Tony Clarke

(Chair of the Action Canada Network)

talk about ... The record of Canada-U.S. Free Trade: Hundreds of thousands of jobs lost Economic and political a1 ternatives to NAFTA An election strategy to oppose NAFTA