Progressive Winnipeg

Reflecting on Assiniboine events and Audit

2012-01-25T14:54:00.004-06:00

Now that city council has concluded, and the findings of the Audit report on the Assiniboine Avenue bike project have been unanimously accepted I can finally speak to it all.

I could go on here about how disappointed I am and such but...I can't, really. Maybe that's what people expect me to say about it. However, the fact that an audit on the Assiniboine path (item 11) was done is a major victory. That I was able to speak at EPC and council is major, because it wouldn't have happened without this audit. Without this report, things would have just moved on without anything being done or anything being considered or the problems with consultation being bought to light.

The only thing I am disappointed with, is that the treatment I received from city officials and 311 staff in this journey, will not be investigated at all. Apparently, being lied to and smeared within city departments is par for the course when it comes to actively participating in municipal-level politics. Apparently, nobody on council thinks anything should happen to the people who told me multiple times that I could not contact the Auditor, and then proceeded to defend their decision to do so. No citizen should face this sort of interference in trying to be involved.

In the wake of that, it was my councillor at the time, Jeff Browaty, who stood up for me and assisted me in contacting the Auditor, and providing assurance that the Auditor had at least received my letter. Mr Browaty, to this day, is also the only person who has ever offered me an apology.

To say I'm disappointed in today's debate though, I just can't say that. There is an amazing sense of accomplishment here. The City Auditor to write a report on this. In the wake of last week and my lambasting of the members of EPC, James Turner in particular took up the story and ended up on Page 1 of the dead-tree-Sun. Turner also remarked to me that he has never before seen this level of action upon the actions of a citizen, and that in itself was outstanding. It was on CBC news that day as well as a print story by Jen Skerritt, and I'm not sure about the Metro. This is the most noise I could have possibly made about this, way more than I hoped or thought would happen.

Everyone knows the process was a sham. And because of the debate today at City Council, I can walk away assuredly that this will not happen again. Certainly Councillors Fielding, Orlikow, Smith, Wyatt, Browaty, and certainly the Mayor, are aware of how badly this was done. You can listen to the Mayor's comments from last week here, which confirm that they well understand that this sort of thing will not happen again, and that any bike path in the future to be installed, will not just consist of consultation with Bike to the Future, and bike-friendly "stakeholders."

Jenny Gerbasi today attempted during the debate to spin this against the opponents of
the bike lane, saying that it was a "small group" out to "hijack" this otherwise beautiful, amazing wonderful transformation. She was undoubtedly referring to myself and the "TGCTS group," apparently oblivious to the fact that, and the audit supports this, that it was a small group of pro-cycling folk hijacking the entire consultation process.

Paula Havixbeck to her credit as a relatively new councillor, would have none of that. This to me was the most interesting part of the morning debate on consultation. Why? Because she challenged Gerbasi on the notion that this was a "small group out to hijack" the process. Havixbeck pointed out that there were 9, count'em, 9, parties involved in the lawsuit against the city regarding the bike path. All 9 of those parties, she noted, were not on the "stakeholders" list. So is it any wonder this lawsuit came to light? Hey, maybe if consultation happened, those 9 would have been identified as stakeholders in their own neighbourhoods.

It was also quite honouring to have Colin Craig of the Canadian Taxpayer's Federation come to speak. Again, it is an amazing sense of accomplishment, to have someone like that come to speak and know that it was happening as a result of your work. Not only mine, but the work of TGCTS as well. Colin noted that while this project was considered small-time, peanuts, that these little things add up. He raised pertinent questions, my favourite being, what will happen or has happened to the people at fault for this, have they been demoted, or have they had a reduction in pay?

Of course not. And that at the least is the kind of action that should be taken. Recourse. Ross Eadie went on at length about how some raised pedestrian crossing on Powers was useless and should be removed. How does that happen? Where does the money to fix the mistakes of the consulting companies come from? Who was in charge of these decisions? Why are colossal fuckups allowed to go by without reprimand?

Lastly, and (sort of) unrelated. I want to briefly address how AT projects are in no way environmentally friendly, nor can cycling lobbyists claim that it is.

Moving cars off of a thoroughfare into already-gridlocked streets is not environmental. It is irresponsible and completely contrary to the on-the-surface goals of AT stuff. What cycling lobbyists really want, is for all cars to be off the road. But having to detour and sit in traffic for an extra 10 minutes per commute or more, is not going to make people leave their cars. It's going to make them hate bike lanes. There is nothing "progressive" (hey, that's the oxy-moronic name of this blog) about it. There is nothing "progressive" about shutting down entire streets that serve hundreds or thousands of vehicle trips per rush hour. Those cars will not leave the roads. Those people will not leave their cars for bikes or buses. Not in this city. As long as we continue to sprawl, and continue to ignore building a solid residential population downtown (you know, one that outpopulates Waverly West), then people will remain in their cars.

My blogging colleague James Howard has written rather flattering things about my work on the iconic Slurpees and Murder:

Speaking of unsurprising, the consultants behind the Assiniboine Avenue bikeway project were charlatans who fudged numbers and forged consultation, nobody on City Council could be bothered to listen to public concerns or question the information they had been handed, and nobody involved in the whole mess would admit that any wrongdoing or impropriety had occurred until the relevant documents were forcefully wrangled out of the system through Freedom of Information action.

...This is the culmination of tremendous work by Graham, who struggled against the various departments of City Hall for well over a year on this case.

Oh, and thanks for mentioning my art show, James.

So there we are. This is all pretty substantial. I'm just wondering if I'll ever get that phone call from the Winnipeg Foundation about the Free Press' "citizen journalism" program.

Where to from here? I'm not sure. Not much seems to catch my interest in Winnipeg these days. Then again I am sort of preoccupied with the arts scene and such, searching for work (an endless adventure) and trying to figure out what's next or what to do with this website. And on that note, if you've any comments or suggestions about my writing in the past 5 years, or maybe you see something that's missing on the Winnipeg blogosphere scene, drop me a line.

To cap off here, I have to say that none of this would have been possible without The Great Canadian Talk Show and the work that were done on that program. Everything seems even more vindicating when you consider the amount of flak that TGCTS received at the time. I believe we were called "conspiracy theorists" at one point. We turned out to be right. In the spirit of the show, give credit where credit is due.

The TGCTS podcasts get better and better as we get better working with the new medium, and it's really starting to take shape. You can subscribe via iTunes for free and have the show downloaded directly to whichever device you like. Plug TGCTS on in your car during the drive home to drown out all that awful stuff that passes for radio in this town.

You have the power. I proved it.

Planet of the Arts: starting January 20th

2012-01-19T19:16:00.006-06:00

Some GOOD, happy, exciting things instead of boring, nit-picking bureaucratic analysis and commentary.

Since August I have been an artist in residence at Artbeat Studio Inc. Our art show starts January 20th, with a reception starting at 7pm. So I would like to invite my fine readers to come out. The show runs until January 28th if you can't attend the opening reception. Artbeat is located at 62 Albert Street, 4th floor.

On display will be my work as well as the work of my 6 colleagues, all of different backgrounds and disciplines, so there is quite the diverse range of work. Personally I will have a poetry book, a collection of over a year's material, as well as just over 20 visual pieces.

Also on display will be a piece that will be auctioned (soon, hopefully!) to raise money for Bradley Manning, the US Military whistleblower accused of leaking information to Wikileaks. He spent 572 days in prison before his first pre-trial hearing, over 300 of those spent in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.

Artbeat Studio Inc is a non-profit that provides studio space to groups of up to 9 artists for 6 months at a time for artists living with mental illness. It is a safe, positive, secure environment to improve our work, to learn the process of being a self-sustaining artist, as well as access to services that help with personal development. All 7 of us for the 14th bi-annual show "Planet of the Arts" have learned and experienced a tremendous amount and with the conclusion of this show, we can look forward to moving forward with our goals and ambitions.

Most readers of my website here may not know the other part of what I do, and this is it. It's quite an accomplishment for me to be able to share this with you at this point. Though this summer, I was featured in a Gordon Sinclair Jr column (I know, I know) for my street art in Assiniboine Park.

So whether you know me via my blogging, my twittering, my work around various communities, from The Great Canadian Talk Show, or if you happen to follow me now here after meeting me in Assiniboine Park, I invite you all to come down on Friday, January 20th, or throughout the week as the show runs. I've created a FB event if you like reminders like that (which it seems less and less people do).

Planet of the Arts, that's me. At Artbeat Studio, 62 Albert St.

The show will be in memory of my colleague Grant Czerepak, who passed away suddenly this week. His intricate and intelligent work will be on display as well. Rest in Peace, Grant.

Assiniboine Avenue Vindication

2012-01-18T13:11:00.003-06:00

All the work done by myself and The Great Canadian Talk Show in 2009 and 2010 about bike lanes and the systemic problem of public consultation has finally, and unsuspectingly, been vindicated.

We've been right all along.

The City Auditor did in fact write a report based on the complaint I made in August 2010 about the gross mismanagement of the Assiniboine Avenue bike path. In that report the auditor echoes my concerns, and proves that politicians and residents alike were lied to: consultation DID NOT happen.

I will write more later, but for now:

The Winnipeg Sun story by James Turner and this Free Press piece by the prolific and insightful Staff Writer are up.

It was particularly comforting not only to have the Mayor personally thank me afterwards, but to say on the record that he agreed with the criticism that myself and TGCTS have brought forward. Russ Wyatt also mentioned prior to voting on the report, that the Auditor had done "good work" and that the report was "very revealing."

More to come.

What the hell were people searching? Top 5 of 2012

2011-12-31T15:17:00.003-06:00

Borrowing a page from Anybody Want a Peanut's book, I'll provide you with some mild entertainment. The most puzzling or amusing search terms that landed people at this here very website.

5. “i want to move away from winnipeg"

(I'm sorry, but Google can't help you.)

4. “the winnipeg parking authority is a piece of crap”

(Yes...yes it is. Did you really need to Google that to find justification?)

3. “how do winnipeg traffic circles work”

(Oh, are they different in other places?)

2. "was gordon sinclair jr almost fired from the WFP”

(I don't know, but maybe Progressive Winnipeg does!)

And...

Drum roll...because it really is that fantastic...

1. “does winnipeg have too many trees?”

(Yup. Those goddamn Elms grow like weeds! Winnipeg even has a special tree-destroying budget and it's own civic department building. We're on top of it better than we are of a blizzard in April. That's what you were looking for...right?)

Best of luck in 2012. May Bradley Manning be free, may the Middle East be democratic, may Wall Street crumble, may Iran not be invaded, and may you remember all that while driving in your car with a Jets licence plate to stand in line for the IKEA opening.

TGCTS re-Launch, re-Locate, on iTunes now Occupying your drive home

2011-12-28T22:17:00.006-06:00

The Great Canadian Talk show has evolved from it's previous incarnation on radio, after proponents of Free Speech and supporters of local citizen journalism (local citizen investigative journalism, at that) removed the broadcast from the airwaves.

TGCTS has a brand new website just in time for 2012.

Thanks for sticking around as TGCTS moves into podcast form, and we continue to improve with the new format and master it. Marty is hard at work scaling the learning curve on his way to creating a product that serves as Winnipeg's best independent media outlet, analysis, and holding elected persons to account.

TGCTS is now on iTunes! Subscribe for free and have the latest podcast downloaded strait to your smartphone in time for the drive home...no matter which hour your drive is!

Update your blog rolls folks, the old tgcts.blogspot.com will re-direct you to the brand new www.tgcts.com

Holy crap

2011-12-05T15:26:00.004-06:00

BUILD IT!

See what happens when you get a cool architecture firm to design buildings? I'll briefly remind you of this debauchery and the Winnipeg blogosphere's favourite, this thing.

(P.S....hiding it in the business section again eh?)

The One Man Committee peruses a certain forum and has more to say if you like reading about buildings.

It took less than a year for Cablegate to prove it's worth

2011-11-28T23:38:00.002-06:00

One year ago yesterday, the world was introduced to the largest-ever cache of unpublished government documents as Wikileaks began the slow release of over 250 000 US diplomatic cables. It did not take long for the media to deride the cables, widely referred to as a "dump," as a useless unimportant thing that would serve no purpose other than slight amusement. Not long after, Tom Oleson in the Winnipeg Free Press chose to echo his mainstream cohorts from around the globe, purpotrating the myth that Wikileaks was somehow out to publish every little detail of absolutely everything that ever existed. My response to this column was published two weeks later.

A year later, the cables have had a profound impact on journalism worldwide. Exactly the opposite of every op-ed pundit snickering at Wikileaks' latest.

Even in Canada things have been uncovered. This CBC story published in September 2011, about how Canadians with a history of mental illness may be denied entry into the US, for committing no crime. Or right here in Winnipeg, the details of Gail Asper expressing her interest in having President Obama come to Winnipeg to speak and raise funds for the Canadian Museum of Human Rights, is detailed in this cable right here.

It should be lost on nobody in this town of the desperate gasping for more funding for the Museum, the irony in getting President Obama to come speak about human rights. Wikileaks published many cables unveiling for the first time evidence that CIA drone strikes authorized by the White House were occurring in multiple countries such as Yemen, where two US Citizens were assassinated via drone.

I have written on this website periodically about the massive oil spill and lawsuit against Chevron in Ecuador. Wikileaks published cables to this as well, exposing Chevron's lobbying attempts to get the US Government to help them avoid responsibility for environmental damage. Other serious environmental cover-ups have been revealed as well, including the revelation that up to 90% of Peru's Mahogany exports were illegally harvested.

This sort of information has a profound effect on people's abilities to hold their governments to account. As well as an incredible tool for journalists around the world, the Cablegate documents remain an important prime source, effectively ushering in an era of what Julian Assange called "scientific journalism." An era where you can check the source yourself, read it yourself, and decide for yourself, without filter.

For more foreign policy examples, you can view this summary here of a number of cables related to the Arab Spring uprisings in the Middle East, as well as on the recently concluded NATO-led war in Libya.

The harshest of Wikileaks critics have been silenced, by the realities of the impacts of these cables, their content, and their value as a source material. Knowledge and truth, it seems, really does win in the end.

Out of Mind/Into Creativity Symposium

2011-11-24T12:36:00.005-06:00

The studio I currently have space in, Artbeat Studio Inc, in conjunction with the William Kurelek exhibit at the Winnipeg Art Gallery (which everyone should go see) is holding a gathering of distinguished speakers from the mental health community to speak about the relationship between mental health and the arts.

The keynote speaker is today and there are events all day tomorrow, Friday November 25.

I'll stop there...this is a message from the Studio Director at Artbeat:

In October the Winnipeg Art Gallery opened the exhibition William Kurelek: The Messenger. This major undertaking marks the first major retrospective look at the life and artwork of one of Canada’s most important visual artists. The life of William Kurelek has been well documented, but of particular significance was his intense struggle with depression for which he was twice hospitalized in London, England. Kurelek ultimately went on to become one of the most successful Canadian artists of the twentieth century and an enduring excellent example of the power and hope provided by participation in the arts.

Artbeat Studio along with the Winnipeg Art Gallery believe that the realization of the Kurelek exhibition offers a critically relevant moment at which to offer a symposium that will shed light on the relationship between mental health, the arts, and social inclusion. This landmark symposium “Out of Mind/Into Creativity” is drawing international interest and participation and presents a very important move towards the engagement of the Winnipeg community regarding issues of mental health-- issues often unknown, ignored, or misunderstood in the general public. By highlighting the vibrant creative contributions of artists living with mental illness, the event will also act as a cultural celebration and hopefully stimulate the public to become involved in mental health awareness & advocacy in our community.

Historically speaking, we can point to many artists (visual, musical, literary) that have dealt with the debilitating effects of mental illness and yet mental illness within contemporary society remains a topic of deep-seated social ignorance. Mental health consumers still face rampant social stigma and marginalization. A symposium on mental health and the creative mind will explore the relationship between individual creativity and artists’ mental health, whilst stimulating public discussions, fostering the sharing of information and working to subvert the myths, stereotypes and stigma that continue to haunt discussions of mental illness today.

We hope that you will join us for this symposium. We look forward to seeing you there.

Lucille Bart

Executive Director
Artbeat Studio Inc.
4th Floor, 62 Albert St.
Winnipeg, MB R3B 1E9
t: (204)943-5194

There will be many great ideas and speakers on Friday, which I encourage you to come out to.

Hope to see you there,

Graham

The price of Bullshit just went up by 400%

2011-11-16T19:10:00.005-06:00

Last week mathematicians here at Progressive Winnipeg figured out that Bullshit in Winnipeg goes for the premium price of $0.05 per ride, per year.

And now, thanks to the ingenuity of your Deputy Mayor, Justin Swandel, the price of Bullshit will increase an additional 400% on June 1st of next year. The new premium price of Bullshit at bus stops all across Winnipeg will be $0.25 cents, per ride, per year.

I thought we had money to pay for rapid transit, which is why it was being built? I guess not. Blame the province! (Cue South Park singalong to the melody of "Blame Canada") Well, thanks, Swandel, and your fantastically-thinking cohorts (Sam Katz, Jeff Browaty, Paula Havixbeck, Thomas Steen, Dan Vandal, Russ Wyatt, and Grand Nordman). Hey none of you guys ride the bus, do you? I think you should starting June 1st. When you find out you can't take the bus to City Hall, go to a meeting, then return home on the same transfer slip, I bet you'll do something that makes some sense.

Maybe for your next feat of genius, you can install toll booths on each back lane to pay for repairs. 25 cents each toll. No monthly passes, no weekly passes, no 3 day passes, no casual user passes, and most importantly, no quick just-going-to-the-store-passes. Pass go, pass it again please, and pay another 25 cents, goddammit.

I introduce a new motion to City Hall. Councillors forfeit 400% of their salary for introducing motions to install new user fee-taxes.

Dan Lett and the Ivory Cafe

2011-11-13T22:02:00.004-06:00

On November 5th, Dan Lett wrote this feel-goodery piece about Kevin Chief, what a great guy he is, and his volunteers who helped him win a provincial MLA seat in Point Douglas. A commenter challenged the validity of Chief's victory. Dan responded:

Behold the wonder of citizen journalism.
Posting under a made up name, or perhaps that is your real name, a number of allegations have been presented as fact.
We did look into the allegations in Pt. Douglas. A poll worker wrongly allowed nine people who did not live in the riding to vote there. That box was sealed. However, let's keep it in perspective. If you take a look at the number of spoiled ballots (reported in official results at Elections Manitoba) and you'll see about two dozen. That's consistent with most ridings.
Then there's the allegation of poll workers telling voters who to vote for. The Tories have filed a complaint with Elections Manitoba but have not offered anyone a witness or other piece of hard evidence to support this allegation. They said there was cheating, they just haven't been able to specify what happened. EM will report back on it.
As for voters without ID, there is a huge problem in the riding with transient population not having ID and not being able to register. Chief's campaign got many of these people ID; whether or not some were turned away because the ID they had was insufficient is something that happens in every riding. And every party shuttles voters to polls on election day with the implicit message that they should vote for the candidate that provided the ride. It's called "getting out the vote."
I'm glad your passionate about politics. Sorry you guys didn't win. I think you need to find a new hobby. The 9-11 conspiracy folks and the "Birthers" hanging around the Republican party need a researcher like you.

Wow.

First Dan chides the commenter as a citizen journalist, and then makes fun of his probably-anonymity. He goes into some allegations, and then decides to label his commenter a 9-11 conspiracy theorist, and a “birther”(someone who believes Obama is not actually American and demands to see the “real” birth certificate), ending with a career suggestion of “researcher for the Republican Party.”

I'm just a citizen journalist, so I have no idea what triggered this outrageous display of idiocy from Lett. Perhaps Dan and “teddybaxter” have had it out in previous comment threads. I searched for “teddybaxter” and he certainly is no citizen journalist, just a prolific news commenter-person.

So I left a comment for Dan. In the interest of keeping this post shorter than the Sports section of the Free Press on a Tuesday, I'll omit it. This is Dan's response:

@ Graham - so I'm not allowed to cross swords with people who write inflammatory, derogatory comments? I do that, and I'm disrespectful. You and your cohorts do that, and somehow that's a "new approach to journalism." I read your blog several times each week. I don't agree with everything you say, but I surely don't write blog posts or post on your site and call you names. My point in calling out the "citizen journalists" was to point out that many do not have to live up to any standards of reporting or attribution. It's great to float theories but don't represent them as facts. Challenge the facts, absolutely.
Go back and read teddybaxter7's posts and tell me you think he represents "citizen journalists" well.

Nobody said you couldn't cross swords. But you did, and in doing so, you exposed yourself for being a rather dull sword in the drawer of Winnipeg jourmanalists. No, you don't leave posts on my site calling me names, but “teddybaxter” didn't call you any name other than your given one (unless it's an alias, some journos do that you know, to remain anonymous?). I alleged that the Free Press was practicing “ostritch journalism,” an allegation I stand behind. Burying your head in the sand ins't a great journalism practice, and quite frankly, it's the reason why people like me exist.

To take at face value anything that Elections Manitoba says, after what happened in 1999 and 12 years of NDP rule, probably doesn't do you any journalism standards credos. I won't get started on how Dan “Stefano Grande” Lett spins Crime Stat to perpetrate the mainstream media insistence that downtown is safe and that crime is all in our heads. Dan's colleagues Mellissa Martin and Bartley Kives both ruled out any possibility of anything actually going on during the 2010 Civic Election in which Ross Eadie claimed he “couldn't have run without the help of the NDP,” a clear violation of election laws. City Clerk Mark Lemoine refused to investigate a formal complaint filed in writing with his office.

After that incident, real citizen journalist Marty Gold was attacked for having eyewitnesses on his show to this incident. In a convoluted way, it ended up with the cancelation of The Great Canadian Talk Show on November 8th of 2010. That is, a show with the approval of local real journalists, James Turner, Kevin Engstrom and Kelly Dehn. I believe you were on that show once or twice, Dan?

TGCTS brought to public attention the string of Magnus Street murders from 2007. The Disraeli expropriations and situation with Eliminator RC were broke I believe, a full two weeks before the Free Press wrote about it. We call that in the citizen journo world “reporting history,” Dan. Marty Gold broke the Gail Glesby story, of ghastly treatment by hospital staff which the Mainstream papers picked up on after the fact, and which Theresa Oswald was forced to address in question period. Don't forget the role bike lanes played in the 2010 Civic Election, all work carried out by citizen journalists, while the Free Press especially rolled their eyes while waiting for something “exciting” to happen in the race.

More ostrich-ism. Through Freedom of Information requests it was revelaed that Dan's boss, Margo Goodhand, was entirely 100% complicit in this cancellation. A show with a 4-year track record of zero complaints filed with RRC, zero complaints filed with the CRTC. But Margo insists that TGCTS host Marty Gold had a platform for daily “attacks” on the WFP, which “escalated to defamation on more than several occasions.” That is, defamation that Margo can provide no proof of, and no examples of, despite there being a 4-year archived history of the show online.

How's that for journalism standards? Shutting down other media outlets? With no reason, no complaints, no lawsuits, no nothing. Oh there was a reason, it was “I don't like you.” It says right in our Charter of Rights that we are entitled to free speech, and a free press! Here is an independent group of journalists, breaking their own news, doing their own coverage, lining up their own interviews. It was too much for Margo Goodhand. We welcome criticism she says, but when it's by citizen journalists, it isn't criticism anymore, it's “attacks,” it has to be stopped.

Now we see the Winnipeg Free Press wants to control the practice of citizen journalism, with their own citizen journalism training program, in conjunction with Margo Goodhand's favourite censors, RRC's CreComm department no less. A program I have been thus far kept entirely out of, despite assurances from some at the Free Press. Not one citizen journalist has been asked to partake in this project that has been given a $400 000 grant, to my knowledge.

Perhaps the Free Press sees it as their job, to “educate” their plentiful “citizen journalist” commenters, by people like Dan Lett. Citizen Journalism exists to fill a vacuum created by mainstream news outlets. They are incapable of criticizing themselves, and interests of the editor and the paper's advertisers ensure some stories get buried, others don't get any coverage at all. That is why citizen journalism can exist and does exist.

But Dan's incredulity didn't stop there. In a response to commenter "sherlock" on his Kevin Chief story he says:

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own version of the facts."

Oh but people are entitled to their own version of the facts. Especially if you're the editor of a major newspaper and you want to get rid of some pesky citizen journalists. Margo Goodhand is apparently entitled to this, isn't it a great stalwart of journalism ethics to be entitled to your own version of the facts? Margo invented her own facts, crippling citizen journalism in Winnipeg in the process. She knocked down the station manager, and then went and lied to the National Post, and lied about lying to the National Post. I mean really, she never listened to the show, but there she is whining about how her newspaper gets "attacked" every day of the week?

For the Free Press to attempt to control this community by cranking out their own virgin citizen journo reporters via the Free Press News Cafe as trained by the already-existing journalists at the Free press, they are undermining the entire purpose of blogging and citizen journalism. It is purely self serving. They'll probably get an award out of it somehow.

The track record of existing citizen journalists and bloggers proves exactly why the Free Press has no place “developing” their own vision of it.

Trained by the people at the Ivory Cafe. The ones who take Elections Manitoba at face value, and Crime Stat at face value. The ones who mock their own commenters for asking questions. The ones who take editorial control of the news to spin an Upper Fort Garry apartment into an evil menace. The ones who think they are a cut above and a cut beyond, that they're better than you because they are “trained.” The ones who won't risk their careers to get the truth out, no matter in what highly regard they delude themselves for believing they do so.

The ones who are entitled to make up facts.

So, Dan. What are you going to write about your boss Margo?

Matthew Good @ Burton Cummings Theatre November 7th 2011 setlist

2011-11-08T15:51:00.004-06:00

Thanks for an amazing night, Matt.

Quote of the night from Matt; "...it's all part of the giant Hockey-Air Force conspiracy."

Setlist, Matthew Good in Winnipeg, November 7, 2011

Hunting Rabbits
Lights of Endangered Species
Boy Who Could Explode
Born Losers
What If I Can't See the Stars, Mildred?
Zero Orchestra
Future is X-Rated
Load Me Up
Non Populous
Apparitions
Weapon
Shallows Low

* * *

Giant
Alert Status Red
Set Me On Fire

If anyone hasn't listened to Matt's newest material, you really owe it to yourself to take a listen to his last two records, "Lights of Endangered Species" and "Vancouver," both of which are absolute masterpieces.

I almost wish Matt wouldn't play anything at all from the MGB era. I'd be fine with that.

If anyone has a picture they'd like to share I'd be happy to post with credit.

Transit's rate hike addiction to the fuel of bullshit

2011-11-02T18:35:00.004-05:00

BALOGNA.

5 cent hike proposal for January because of rising fuel prices, expensive buses, and inflation.

Wrong answer, boys.

What Kives' article doesn't tell you is what transit has said before. Let's look at what they said before, shall we? By diving into the citizen journalism archives of my own website, of course. In job postings for journalism they always want you to be able to "keep files" on "developing stories." Well here ya go, see, I can do it.

In 2007, Transit fees went up by TWENTY FIVE CENTS to $2.25. The reason? To "increase ridership." (laugh all you want but ridership has skyrocketed in the past 4 years. More expensive Transit probably isn't the reason though.)

In 2008, Transit fees went up by a nickel, to $2.30. Reason? RISING FUEL PRICES.

In 2009, Transit fees went up another nickel, to $2.35. Reason? RISING FUEL PRICES.

Now. Remember that in the summer of 2008, gas prices were 1.40 a litre. How do I know this? I blogged that important stat in said blog post from 2008 that I linked to above. It is an important figure to keep in mind in the overall narrative of all this. Let's track the trend of rising gas prices and juxtapose with the reasons for Transit's rate hikes: rising gas prices.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit. This was the first time gas spiked for a period of time. But this was almost like a test for the market, to see how much the oil companies could charge without backlash. In the coming years, gas continued to increase. Directly preceding the US Banking financial bubble that burst in 2008, gas prices in Winnipeg hit a record $1.40/l, people were going insane. But the oil bubble burst before the US economy went bust.

In July 2008, oil hit a record $147/barrel. This is concordant with the Transit rate increase of July 2008, most Transit hikes occur in January. Transit needed an "emergency hike" of sorts to help deal with this crazy market fluctuation. So they asked for an extra nickel and everyone was fine with that. Understandable, right?

But just six months later, the oil market crashed with everything else, gas prices were crashing too. In July oil was trading at $147 a barrel, but in December of 2008 it was trading at just $32 per barrel, a whopping $115 drop in just six months.

Did that stop Transit from making a request for another nickel because of "rising fuel prices?" Hell no. And so I blogged on January 8th, 2009, that the price of gas in Winnipeg was down to $0.75/l. Almost half of what it was the previous summer. But Transit still wanted a "rising fuel price hike" so they asked for it, and got it.

Here we are in 2011. The price of gas is somewhere about in between of $0.75 and $1.40.

And Transit needs more money for gas?! Rising fuel prices?! INFLATION?! Expensive buses? You mean the ones they want for this $1.25 million dollar transit strategy? Start saving those nickels now, we'll need them all by 2031? Just say it's because of "rising fuel prices?"

Ridership is up. Therefore Transit brings in more money. Size of the fleet has increased nominally. But three years of rate hikes for "rising fuel costs" is totally bogus.

There's one thing fueling these rate hikes. Bullshit is apparently an energy source, and it costs Winnipeggers an extra $0.05 per ride, per year to buy. Bullshit is at a premium these days.

I urge you to send this to your respective councillors. Transit needs to come up with a new bait and switch strategy. This one doesn't work anymore.

Money makes the world go 'round

2011-11-01T23:26:00.009-05:00

Are you a charitable organization that wants to support Palestine's statehood bid? Say goodbye to your biggest funder, the US. Oh, and Canada will keep giving UNESCO money until 2014, but John Baird doesn't like it. 'Cause everyone knows the Palestinians aren't real people and, therefore, have no real heritage sites.

Is your name Greece? Is your country about to be saved by a giant international plan and by agreeing to all the austerity measures dictated by the iron-fist IMF, who have saved other fine countries like Russia in the 90s, South Africa in the 90s, and all those South American Junta countries decades ago? Wanna let your country decide the country's fate? The world economy really hates it when democracy gets involved. And these guys wonder what all this "Occupy" stuff is about?

Are you a whistleblower organization? Are you publishing secret documents that probably should be in people's hands, but aren't? Have you broken no laws, operating under the idea of Freedom of the Press, your material sourced and used by newspapers all over the world, uncountable numbers of times? That's too bad, because the biggest financial institutions can decide you are blacklisted and stop over 95% of your funding from ever, ever reaching you. Thereby proving that banks are indeed the most powerful unfettered corporations in the world.

If it interests you, you can donate via Visa to alleged rapist Julian Assange's Defense Fund, however you cannot donate via Visa to Wikileaks. Funding alleged rapists? Go ahead! Funding publishing, participating in democracy and journalism? Oh, hey now, boy.

Assange's extradition verdict is due in 6 hours. If extradition to Sweden is approved, it leaves open the possibility for him to be re-routed to the United States, where he will probably never see the light of day again, though he has committed no (publishing) crime. Known serial rapists are out in the world, their locations are known, yet they remain free. The international arrest warrant for Assange in December 2010 is insulting to the purpose of Sweden's rape laws, as well as the European Arrest Warrant system.

It's all about the money.

It's all about political power.

Events like these contribute to the Occupy movement. This is the age of the internet, the age of information, and the age where people and governments are as close as they've ever been to equal.

191 Days Without Charge from WikiLeaks on Vimeo.

Assange has now been under house arrest without charge for 339 days.

In other Wikileaks-related news, Bradley Manning, alleged source of the Collateral Murder video from the Iraq war, has been detained for 526 days without trial in the US.

(Pssst...pay attention to those UNESCO folks. They're the ones who, with the NDP Government here in Manitoba, want to make a huge chunk of forest on the East side of Lake Winnipeg a heritage site)

Take me to your...uh...leader? Part 2

2011-10-26T13:15:00.002-05:00

Not that long ago I wrote this post on how for every leadership race, the media deems there are no good candidates. Every time, without fail. Complaining and whining about the "lack of good candidates" is the norm.

And now, without fail, Dan Lett writes this drivel about how noooooobody is there to pick up the leadership for the provincial Liberal party.

Sigh.

At least Kevin Engstrom's column was funny.

Forks North Portage makes Forks Biz pay full price for game-day parking

2011-10-24T13:10:00.004-05:00

Come for the parking, stay for the game?

Tonight the Winnipeg Jets will host the New York Rangers, a game that is sure to be of high energy following New York's embarrassing 2-0 shutout to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Meanwhile across the street, another embarrassing performance will occur. The award-winning Portage Place parkade will fill up, at $10 a spot, as Winnipeggers drive in from the 'burbs to scramble for whatever parking they can find. Parking, of no surprise to anyone, fetches a premium price on game day nights. For FNP, this is bonus revenue, revenue they would not have otherwise had. If it were not for the Winnipeg Jets, the Portage Place parkade would sit empty.

After a healthy debate in my last post about this I was able to figure something out. Policy Frog's astute questioning led me to something I had not even thought of.

To recap, FNP has a promotion on where if you get food at a restaurant at the Forks, you will receive a free parking ticket for the PP parkade. The restaurant is required to cough up $5 as a "finders fee" of sorts, a modest tip jar to FNP for having the kind-hearted goodwill to send the Forks some business during the slowest times of the year.

The "kind-hearted goodwill" part is where it gets embarrassing.

As I said, through the comment debate, it dawned on me that an evening of parking at the PP parkade for three hours, at the regular rate of $1 per half-hour, would cost you $6. On game day, it's $10. But FNP has the Forks restaurants pay $5.

Which means FNP isn't paying "half" of the cost of the spot at all, which was what was previously deducted. No no, FNP is only paying 1/6th of the cost, making the restaurant pay for 5/6ths. The cost of operating the parkade is clearly pegged to $1 per half hour, but FNP has the restaurants paying for 2.5 hours of parking. Which is to say, FNP is basically making the restaurants absorb the - entire - cost of parking at Portage Place for their patrons.

The idea that FNP is paying "half" is silly. Sure, half of 10 is 5. But the non-inflated cost of parking for the game is $6. Which would mean...if FNP profits $1 per 3 hours of paid parking, then they aren't paying anything, and instead making the restaurants pay.

So in short...FNP has figured out a way to drive a small amount of business to restaurants at the Forks, and have the restaurants pay full regular price for the tickets, and only make it - look - like FNP is paying half of the cost, because they can point to the game-day rate.

Embezzle money out of the Forks businesses and make it look like you're in it for half, AND make it look like it's smiles all around. Is FNP on the Downtown BIZ stakeholders list? Sure is. This shouldn't surprise you, it's right out of the PR spin class playbook.

The song that never ends

2011-10-20T20:34:00.008-05:00

The "War on Terror" and it's amorphous cousin "The War on Dictators We Don't Like" have seemingly come to a temporary publicity end with the death of Muammar Gaddafi.

The first 21st Century boogeyman, Saddam Hussein, was executed in December 2006. Osama bin Laden was assassinated on May 2nd, 2011. Likewise, dozens of terrorists deemed of high rank within various terrorism organizations have also been killed, many by the US's current weapon of choice, the unmanned drone. Most recently, US-Yemeni citizen Anwar al-Awlaki was killed by drone strike, as well as his 16 year old US-born son just two weeks later, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki.

These two deaths have sparked debate about the extrajudicial killings of American citizens, ranging from pieces in The Washington Post, to foreign policy critic and anti-war advocate Glenn Greenwald and even entered the national stage when Republican Nomination hopeful Ron Paul raised his voice about it.

The next monkey in this line of kings is anyone's guess.

Warnings and stern language emerged today from the world's leaders, condemning Gaddafi's actions as leader, the inevitable end of an oppressive ruler. Today President Obama came out swinging against other tyrannical dictators, saying "the rule of an iron fist inevitably comes to an end."

These words fall flat, and are astoundingly far from the truth, if the current actions of the US and NATO are any indication. These words were said by the president for no reason other than the NATO intervention helped end Gaddafi's reign. The people of Yemen and Syria in particular are currently risking their lives every day to protest en masse against their own dictatorships, with no help from the West. The people of Bahrain are also in the same position, while the US nears approval of a $53 million dollar arms deal, which will do nothing but actually help the government of Bahrain inflict terror on it's own people.

Who the next boogeyman will be is not evident, as the world seems unwilling to enter another conflict to heroically propel another country to freedom and democracy. While tens of thousands continue protesting in Syria and in Yemen, and the same human rights abuses that (supposedly) warranted the intervention in Libya continue, we will sit on our hands. In Bahrain's case, the US will even assist them in quelling the protesters. Innocent eople die in protests every day in these countries.

I am glad this conflict is over, and I am glad our CF-18s are coming home. I do not agree with a country who will so readily join one fight, but ignore others. Dictatorship Favouritism is alive and well, and the Arab Spring protests have shown where Western powers' allegiances really are.

The US will continue drone strikes in Somalia against al-Shabaab, and in the Af-Pak region against the Haqqani (which is being presented in the news as if it is a "new" threat, their existence dates back to the early 1990s). Extensive research has been carried out regarding drone strikes, and the great work done by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism has found that 160 children have been killed in nearly 300 drone strikes in Pakistan. Innocent children of course, being perfectly reasonable collateral damage in the name of the war on terror.

Inevitably various dictatorships will be accused of harbouring terrorist militants, and their countries will also be the subject of counter-terrorism operations by the CIA. We see this now as drone strikes occur in Yemen and Somalia, and the US sends a small team of soldiers to Uganda.

The War on Terror is kind of like the War on Drugs, it is everywhere, every place, and it will never end. There is always a new source, a new threat, and requires trillions of dollars to carry out each year.

The world now holds it's breath for the announcement of the next supposed terrorist threat. Matthew Good said this rather succinctly in 2004:

"Alert status red, but the sun comes up instead."

Updated Blog Roll

2011-10-19T01:55:00.005-05:00

A couple additions to the blog roll, which I like to call "The Local 'Sphere."

First, my Progressive Winnipeg Super PAC-funded plug* for Jess Chapman's The Future American which will be of interest to anyone who follows American Politics even a fraction of the time myself or Jess spends on it. She writes in an easy-to-follow style that would be of value to you if you're the kind of person who only skims headlines. I may think Jess is crazy for wanting to live in a country so obviously going down the tubes in a hard, hard way, but hey, I'm just the Super PAC who funds this plug.

For local quip, Winnipeg One Great City (or so they tell me) has been chugging along for awhile now.

*The "Progressive Winnipeg Super PAC" may or may not actually exist.

Forks North Portage slaps Forks Biz owners

2011-10-18T12:02:00.003-05:00

A promotion is currently going on at The Forks for home Jets games. The deal is, visit one of the restaurants (and purchase food) at The Forks on game day, and you will receive a parking voucher for Portage Place.

With the parking rate hikes at Jets games in nearby lots, this is a pretty sweet deal. If you're going to pre-game or grab a bite to eat before the game, you might as well get free underground parking in the process, right? You won't even have to walk outside, thanks to the skywalk network.

Unfortunately all of the Restaurants don't feel the same way. Because for every Portage Place parking voucher they give out on game day, the Restaurant has to cough up $5 to Forks North Portage (FNP).

Is this supposed to be like a finders fee?

The reason why this is surprising, is because FNP controls both of these parking markets. They're the ones who give you parking tickets at The Forks. They're also the ones responsible for the award-winning underground Portage Place parking.

It's win-win for people looking to go out before a Jets game. But it's a slap in the face to business owners at The Forks, who while they might get a tiiiiny bit of extra business, have been paying for parking for years at The Forks. Their employees have been paying for parking at The Forks. And for years, they themselves and their employees have been paying parking fines/tickets at The Forks. And your CUSTOMERS have been paying for parking at The Forks.

Not like it actually costs anything for FNP. No it really doesn't. This is all bonus parking revenue. Who is shopping at Portage Place at 7pm on a weekday? The answer is nobody, because PP isn't open at 7pm on a weekday. So to throw the restaurants at The Forks a bone, offer them a promotion during the winter when pedestrian traffic is next to nil, and absorb the "cost" of the parking voucher, wouldn't be out of the question.

Hey, we control both of these parking lots, but we want you to kick us $5 for being such a great sport about you, and your employees, and your customers, paying for parking for years and years and years.

Sounds like something right out of the Downtown BIZ PR spin book. Glossy on the outside. As dark and dingy as the Portage Place parkade on the inside.

Take me to your...uh...leader?

2011-10-17T13:27:00.004-05:00

Leadership races. Oh boy, what great fun!

(Snore...)

Sigh, how predictable. So the the PCs here in Manitoba have a leadership problem. What now? We've just gone through three elections in a year, and here's a slate of new leadership races, Federal NDP, Federal Liberals, PCs and Manitoba Liberals, all facing identity crises. WHO WILL LEAD US? WHO?!

...WHOOOOOOOoooooo?!?!?!??!

Kevin Engstrom at the Winnipeg Sun is going to tell us all about it. Problem is, his column suffers from lack-of-good-candidates-itis. Just like every other column about leadership races. Here is how he ends the column, opining that Seinfeld hero Michael "Kramer" Richards may be the best candidate:

"Yeah, I’m as underwhelmed as you are about it. Another pretty downtown lawyer to replace the pretty downtown lawyer not enough people liked."

As a media critic I've got always got a bone to pick with the media. But over the last year there has been an oh-so-obvious trend dictated by the mainstream narrative it is starting to get annoying. This boring trend is the same old, same old, nothin' to see here, move along. Oh boy, yet ANOTHER boring election. Scoff and roll your eyes at the next leadership convention, or the next TV debate, because it's all the same, nobody has bold new ideas and the current crop of politicians blows chunks.

Every. Single. Leadership. Race. Somehow, there is NOBODY to step up, the pool of suitable candidates is laughable, pathetic even.

The Civic Election 2010 was characterized as boring and unexciting, the Federal Election of 2011 got the same treatment and the media's eyes glazed over the Provincial Election of 2011 with a collective groan of "we've heard all this before," then racing (pun intended) off to write articles about how pathetically the Tories bombed and how useless McFadyen was. (A tiny bit of hypocrisy if you ask me.)

Let's start down south. The Republican Leadership has been laughed at by their own party for failing to put up a "suitable candidate." One look at the candidates and the Republican Party holds their noses. What could they possibly be looking for? You can only hate taxes and gay people so much, and together as a group, they might just have more hate for these two things than all of America combined. But still it's not good enough.

The Federal Liberals have been having the same nose-holding scene now for years as they play hot potato leader. Paul Martin! No, Stephane Dion! No no no, Iggy! Yeah Iggy! No! We want Bob Rae! No wait we don't want Bob Rae. But WHAT OTHER CHOICE DO WE HAVE?!

The NDP chose this guy way back when named Jack Layton. Jack who? Now the late Jack has left a vacuum in the party. Who to replace him? Wait. Seriously? This is who we have to choose from? Don't we have anyone better?

Now here at home. The Manitoba Liberals? Jon Gerrard? Please! Give me something EXCITING! Oh wait, there is nothing exciting in the Liberal party? Harry Wolbert, really? This is the best we have?

And the Progressive Conservatives. Maybe the PCs themselves think they can produce a good leader, but Sun Media doesn't. The Sun laughs in the face of the leadership race. Ha! Look at these clowns! There's NOOOOOBODY to choose from. It's so bad, we're even putting in people like Sam Katz and Michael Richards for comedic relief.

What is up with this stuff? Who do people want, Jesus? I gotta say, if you had THAT GREAT a candidate for leader, wouldn't he be leading already?

Leaders don't grow on trees. They take time to develop, they are weak at first as they learn the ropes, but people with the right qualities, given time, will turn into fine leaders. Such as our current Prime Minister, and the aforementioned late Jack Layton. Both were given over 5 years and multiple elections to hone the craft of leadership.

I look at the list of PCs that Engstrom has identified and think, hmm, yeah I can see Ron Schuler as leader of the party. I can also see a good race for the leadership out of a few key guys. What IS wrong with this batch of the political gene pool?

What is it people want to see? And even if what they want to see is given to them, will they even recognize it? The Provincial Election here saw complaints about no "new bold ideas" when said bold new ideas were offered by the Liberal platform and the Green platform, just nobody bothered to give them credit for it. No-one it seems, wants to give credit to fine candidates for leadership, either.

I just can't buy in to the idea that there are not any good leaders, for any leadership race, in any party. There are MPs and MLAs who have spent a long time at their jobs, know the system well, and have skill sets that are routinely overlooked. Candidates in the media's eyes seem to get judged on what they say in public, not how well they are at negotiating and persuasion. In case the media missed it, a lot of what makes politics politics happens behind closed doors. Where you don't get to observe.

It also has a lot to do with how you interact with members of your own party, and that isn't always going to come out as obvious on the floor of the House.

What seems to happen is that instead of looking at potential candidates' resumes, we look at their public commentary and behaviour, choosing to judge based on what the general perception of what they are like as a person instead of on their accomplishments, merits and suave within their own party.

Then again, it is always easier to do a drive-by smear job on a party and balk at their lack of candidates than it is to actually give the more prominent members of the party a closer look. And I'll admit, the ridiculousness of some of Engstrom's suggestions and comments made me read all of it. If that is the goal of the newspaper, to create a shallow piece likely to provoke a reaction, well fine.

But it does not do our political climate any favours. Nor does it help us move away from the idea that politics is all the same old, boring shit. And that isn't likely to increase voter turnout. And if voters aren't engaged then it must be boring.

So now let's get back to bitching about how there's no exciting possible leaders!

He who throws others under the bus, is not allowed to DRIVE the bus

2011-10-13T18:41:00.003-05:00

Manitoba, meet Harry Wolbert, Wolbert, Manitoba.

The Liberal candidate from St Vital who single-handily derailed an otherwise alright campaign, sending the party into a tailspin that had Dr Jon Gerrard fighting off allegations of internal dissent with his leadership, will, yes, run for the Liberal Party of Manitoba leadership.

It is worth noting that the highly esteemed and accomplished Harry Wolbert received a whopping 776 votes in the 2007 election. This time around, after stating on Twitter he thought Gerrard needed to go (and the gong show that followed), it cost him some 300+ votes, bringing him in at 458 votes in the 2011 Provincial Election, just 4650 votes behind incumbent Nancy Allan.

Harry Wolbert feels now is a good time to step forward as a possible leadership candidate, after being responsible for nearly halving his own vote total.

Good luck, Harry.

NHL Fighting-depression bullshit vindicated

2011-10-09T12:09:00.003-05:00

An incredible piece by Randy Turner in the Winnipeg Free Press has detailed how Rypien's depression affected his life and his profession.

Surprise, it has nothing to do with fighting. Said details are all too frighteningly familiar for people such as myself. In short, I am lucky to have a Craig Heisinger type person in my life. The effort and care that these kinds of people put into helping their depressed friends cannot be emphasized enough. Not everyone has the understanding or patience to be able to do this, in fact, very few do. Mental illness in general utterly ruins many a relationship.

I won't elaborate further, except to say that if you wish to read my thoughts on Gary Lawless' hijacking of the two recent suicides in the NHL to further his cause against fighting, you can do so right here.

Go. Jets. GO.

How CEOs think homeless people sleep in downtown Winnipeg

2011-10-04T17:47:00.007-05:00

Fail.

And what was all that extra security and whatnot for? The CEOs and Stefano Grande too afraid to sleep a few blocks away from that hotel the Air Canada people don't want their pilots and attendants sleeping at?

Where is this information coming from? Why, The Great Canadian Talk Show podcast of course. Paving the citizen journalism road single handedly in Winnipeg.

If you believed Stefano Grande and Dan Lett, you'd swear that coming downtown is like an outdoor version of polo park. BIZ patrols are like mall cops, dontcha know?

Visualization of the current state of affairs (to scale) of Manitoban Politics

2011-10-01T22:54:00.004-05:00

Proving you can get your point across with MS Paint.

Major problems with the CEO Sleepout

2011-09-29T13:51:00.005-05:00

Three observations, one question.

1. Real homeless people cannot sleep at 201 Portage. It is well lit and has security. Homeless people would be removed from this area. You also cannot panhandle in this plaza area for the same reason.

Perhaps the CEOs would like to call this one a mulligan and go sleep on Jarvis somewhere instead.

2. As I walked by 201 Portage moments ago I noticed a few red shirt Downtown BIZ patrols, and a police officer. It is too bad homeless people are not granted the same kind of security. Ironically, this beefed security is probably to prevent homeless people from panhandling. Those aggressive panhandlers everyone is scared of are probably the same people that these CEOs supposedly want to help.

3. Are homeless people allowed to come and "sleepout" with the CEOs? Or would they get removed by security?

4. Both publisher Bob Cox and Margo "Free Speech" Goodhand will be sleeping out. Given that the Winnipeg Free Press had an article or two on homelessness awareness activist Mark Horvath's visit to Winnipeg and CDI College, neither of them attended Mark's presentation. But they will sleep out in a well lit, secure outdoor environment. Kind of like camping in your back yard.

Gotta hand props to the Downtown BIZ though. This event is as slick, polished and matte gloss as any Downtown BIZ pamphlet you can pick up.

Thank you Sun Media, John Baird

2011-09-27T16:48:00.002-05:00

This past week or so an interesting development has occured. The website and organization ethicaloil.org raised some money and decided to buy ad spots on major Canadian broadcasters, suggesting that our imports of Saudi Arabian oil, because of the widespread human rights abuses in the country, was unethical. The group aims to promote domestic sources of oil.

The Saudi Government threatened to sue these broadcasters. Displaying their true value as journalism outlets, they shit their pants and agreed to not air the ads. Except for Sun TV. Ezra Levant, as often as I may disagree with his views, lit it up yesterday, chided the other broadcasters and deservingly so, tooted Sun Media's own horn.

What CTV and CBC and whatever else thought they would actually get sued for, I don't know. Do we have to be nice to a country that has a government not unlike the governments of Iraq and Libya, before the West intervened, when we heroically crusading in to save everyone from human rights abuses and force upon them democracy? I mean, what are they going to do to us? Do I really have to ask what kind of state our supposedly protected rights and charter freedoms are in, like freedom of speech, if these broadcasters fall to a total bluff of a lawsuit?

Thankfully our Foreign Minister John Baird as well as a couple other ministers, had a few choice things to say about the subject. Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver said:

"Freedom of speech is a core Canadian value and I don't think that Canadians appreciate a foreign country attempting to limit that freedom"

Indeed. And what I appreciate even less, is that apparently our national broadcasters are so fragile as to fold at the mere threat of a lawsuit, that they will bend to the will of a foreign country, contrary to the values and principles of this country. It leads me to look down upon these broadcasters even more, because of the fact that our politicians words are standing up for what Sun Media is doing, our government is standing up against the Saudi's response, while other media outlets cave. Plus one for the MPs, a big fat minus one for the broadcasters.

And so here is the kicker. Today, we learn that a woman in Saudi Arabia is set to receive ten lashes for the henious crime of driving.

How's not airing that ad sound now, CTV?

Bill Maher's New Rule will appeal to 'Peggers

2011-09-25T21:07:00.002-05:00

From the September 16th Real Time with Bill Maher show:

"New Rule, if you get to send me a ticket with a photo of me running a red light, I get to pay that ticket with a photo of me writing a cheque."

Ten Years of Revenge

2011-09-11T14:53:00.003-05:00

All of the reflection on today's events ten years ago will be about America, about remembering a grim day, about stories of mothers and fathers and brothers lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings. What will not be told is the unfathomable loss of innocent life overseas, or the stories of Afghan mothers and fathers and Iraqi brothers and sisters lost at the hands of Western forces exacting revenge under the guise of a global war on terror.

"It is forbidden to kill. Therefore all murderers are punished, unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." Voltaire

I'd say that counts as "trumpets."

While the US triumphantly celebrated the death of one man, Osama bin Laden, the hundreds of thousands of graves that were dug along the way were not in those people's minds, and nor are they in the minds of people today.

9/11 as an anniversary is not like our Remembrance Day, where we are mindful of the large loss of life inflicted in the World Wars. 9/11 rather, is a day to remember the deaths of 2996 people in New York City. A day to take everyone back to their feelings of shock and awe, of sitting in front of their TVs, of where they were when it happened, and to remember the moment that the US would vow to hunt down the sick fuckers that did this.

It is the day "terrorism" entered our daily vocabulary and a term that over the last ten years, has been used to inflict all sorts of interruptions on our daily lives, X-Ray machines in airports, multi-billion dollar corporate businesses, the invasion of Iraq, and dropping bombs on Pakistan and Yemen via unmanned aircraft controlled by robots. Bombs that have also been responsible for the deaths of innocent people, and children.

Still lost on the part of our minds that should be devoted to common sense, is the fact that bombs are indiscriminate. They can be dropped on places that were not intended to be dropped. They kill women and children without decision. These bombs are no different than the indiscriminate attacks on the World Trade Center buildings, yet dropping them is celebrated.

A little more than a year ago in 2010, Wikileaks published documents that had a profound impact on the way loss of life in the "war on terror" is viewed. They showed the gross misconducts of military officials to cover up civilian deaths as "terrorist deaths." They showed the backlash in Afghan villages when innocent people are killed, by US or NATO troops barging into houses in night raids. Small sums of money are offered to the enraged families, as if the deaths of their loved ones can be bought and sold as some sort of commodity.

On this ten year anniversary, we should remember that;

2996 civilians died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

The civilian death toll in Afghanistan is nearly impossible to even estimate.

Over 90, 000 civilians have died in Iraq since 2003.

And lastly, I think that it is important to remember that this mass carnage is not over. And that perhaps it should be. And that maybe it is about high time to consider that we have been waging a war of "justice and peace" when it has brought none.

"Justice will bring peace. Not intelligence wars against 'world terror.' But our leaders will not admit this." Robert Fisk

Our Federal Government sold out the mentally ill to US Homeland Security

2011-09-09T22:51:00.006-05:00

If you aren't outraged at what our government is doing, you soon will be.

Thanks to Wikileaks and their dump of diplomatic cables (released early because of actions by The Guardian) we find out that if you have a mental illness, the US Department of Homeland Security might know, because our government had no problem with sharing something that might be considered private records.

The CBC story focuses on a woman who attempted suicide 4 years ago, and was not allowed to cross the border, because US Homeland Security knew about it. She couldn't enter the country, because, well, you know, she might pose a risk. A terrorist risk.

The part of interest is summed up very well by the CBC:

"...any information entered into the national Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) database is accessible to American authorities."

Which means if you had a mental health-related episode, and the police responded, the United States probably knows about it.

Fuckin' disgraceful.

I'm not sure what scares me more. That the US requested this information, or that the Canadian Government handed everything over, clearly without regard for cases like this, attempted suicide. Or other petty issues relating to other personal things.

In December of 2010, when the diplomatic cables started to be released by Wikileaks, media around the world exploded in a wave of intense criticism, over the "damage" that would be caused, over the uselessness of the information, that it is stuff we don't need to know about. How misguided and short-sighted. In December 2010, I had my first op-ed published in the Winnipeg Free Press, in response to one of their opinion writers who thought maybe Assange would publish his phone conversations and emails.

My digging around turned up this piece by the Globe and Mail, condemning releasing the cables as "irresponsible" and chiding Wikileaks for all the clearly non-terrorist-related material.

And this would seem to prove all those op-eds wrong, wouldn't it? All the people who said it was irresponsible, that the cables had nothing to do with terrorism. Except that what people miss from this...is that the point of releasing these cables is not because of terrorism, but to release information that maybe, just maybe, the public should know.

Because for shit like this, the Canadian people, have a right to know. This is not the kind of thing that should be kept inside diplomatic doors.

Democratic countries just like our own all over the world are having similar revelations about their governments. The information age needs Wikileaks.

Nazi elevators for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights

2011-09-04T16:41:00.003-05:00

ThyssenKrupp is putting in the elevators for the CMHR.

ThyssenKrupp is a merger between Thyssen AG and Krupp. Both are German companies. And both have ties to the Nazi regime. The companies merged in 1999.

Thyssen AG's plants were commandeered by the Nazis for war manufacturing. The company was ordered sold off by the Allies and was reduced to a steel-only company.

Krupp, actually manufactured weapons for the Nazis. Including the fearsome Schwerer Gustav tank, which was the largest piece of machinery on the field at the time, and apparently, could fire a 7-ton shell 37 kilometres. The company faced accusations post-war that when the Nazi regime ran out of money, their employees, who we Nazi-conscripted to begin with, were then not paid, and abused and beaten to continue making arms.

This Adolf Hitler quote in particular is quite interesting:

"In our eyes, the German boy of the future must be slim and slender, as fast as a greyhound, tough as leather and hard as Krupp steel"

Which makes our elevators in the CMHR...what?

Elevators of human rights?

Gary Lawless' college of not-so-medical knowledge

2011-09-02T23:52:00.004-05:00

Basking in his own ignorance about mental illness and depression, Gary Lawless continues to swing punches, pun intended, at Don Cherry, and the "undeniable link" between enforcers' concussion history and their suicides.

I live with major depression and have for years. Gary's columns make me fucking sick.

So what is it Gary, talk about depression (ie the cause of suicide), or throw the punches?

This is beyond lazy journalism. Using these players' deaths to launch onto his own soapbox about fighting in the NHL and his obvious love affair with Don Cherry? Unbelievable.

Could have researched depression. Could have used his position as a major sports journalist in this town to actually educate people. But no, he writes one column about it and it's back to the fictitious medical knowledge of Dr Gary Lawless. He has irrefutable evidence that fighting in hockey, getting less than 12 minutes of game time, and Don Cherry (who only gets 7 minutes a week), cause suicide.

Lawless' has been upstaged. By statistics, by the truth, and by his own colleagues in sports journalism. First and most embarrassingly, by his cohort at the Free Press, Ed Tait, who should be given a medal for this column and effective immediately, replace Lawless on the sports journo hierarchy. An op-ed last week communicated some basics about mental illness. I suppose Lawless doesn't read the newspaper he's published in, might've learned something. Elliotte Friedman, part of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada personalities, is leaps and bounds, and centuries, ahead of Lawless with his article published on the CBC today.

Lastly, Gary might have been astute to check the comments of Wade Belak's mother:

"...he never had any bad concussions that we know of — he had bumps and bruises of course — but no noticeable concussions that we know of," she added.

Undeniable link, eh?

What was that Gary, you had something to add?

Please, let's stop listening to the macho bullying of Don Cherry and his acolytes. They don't know what they are talking about on this subject.

No.

The only person who doesn't know what they're talking about, is you, Gary. You're making a joke out of the mental health community. You're making a joke about depression. You're making a joke out of suicide victims. You're using evidence that isn't there, and you're using these deaths to further your own views on fighting in the NHL, and Don Cherry. Not only are you completely clueless on the subject of depression, your conduct on writing about these incidents is despicable.

In my blog post the other day, I did some very simple and highly conservative math to find that:

1. At least 54 NHL players are living with depression.
2. We should expect 1.6 suicides per year.
3. Not a single NHL player with depression has come forward to speak about it.

I might add, in addition to my last post, the reference to Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide. Did he take too many soccer balls to the head? Too rough a sport?

Lawless needs to go to a library ASAP and get a book on depression. Hell, screw the library, Wikipedia will do. Or phone up a doctor who deals with depressed people all day long. Or maybe drop by a Mood Disorders session.

Oh and, Dr Gary? You're welcome to come with me to Selkirk. That is, if you don't think that they show Coach's Corner 24/7 on the TVs there.

Rypien's death in vain, the media and the league support the stigma

2011-08-29T16:45:00.007-05:00

The surprising and rather shocking, unsuspected death of 27 year-old Winnipeg Jet Rick Rypien took the city off-guard. This wasn't just another hockey player to us, we saw him play with the Manitoba Moose, we saw him grind it out trying to make it as a full-time NHL player with the Vancouver Canucks. And then we saw him return to play for our brand new team. A Cinderella story in the making, it can't get much more romantic than that.

Much of the talk in the media surrounding his death is about his “dark emotions,” and about how we have to “end the stigma” regarding mental illness. Except nothing has been done about it, and the media, particularly local media, has done nothing but support the current culture of “stigma” as people like to call it. I call it ignorance.

I am in a unique position to comment on this as I am intimately knowledgeable about the mental health community, what goes on, what people's reactions to illnesses are, and the once-in-a-while heavy heart that arises when someone commits suicide, only to turn back to their old ways after exiting our very short-term memories. My favourite saying goes something like “everyone has a mental illness these days.”

After initial shock, media raced around to obtain quotes and statements from players that knew or roomed with Rypien. All were the same. That he “seemed like he was in a good place” and that he “seemed happy” and etcetera, etcetera. Winnipeg Jets GM stated he felt that they were “making progress.”

No media outlet even dared breathe the word “depression” initially, it was like a rumour. Even though his agent, and at least two GM's were fully aware of Rypien's problems.

The CBC reported that Rypien battled personal issues, with an abominabally irresponsible statement from his agent deflecting the question, saying “sometimes we forget everyone has their own issues to deal with on a daily basis.” What makes this irresponsible, is making the connection between everyone's daily problems, and someone with major depression on the brink of ending their own life. See how gravely ignorant “everyone has a mental illness these days” can be?

A Metro headline read, incredulously, Rypien seemed happy in weeks before death, which is strait out of the “how a depressed person portrays themselves 101” handbook. Gary Lawless in the Winnipeg Free Press headline read “Ultimate teammate hid his dark emotions” and only in the subheadline mentions depression. Hiding emotions and seeming happy go hand in hand.

Two days after his death, Gary Lawless, playing the part of an ignorant stigma-purpotrater to a T, pens a column linking Rypien's death to his on-ice fisticuffs. They go “hand in hand,” he says, the link is “undeniable,” Lawless tells us.** Without class, Lawless uses this baseless asumption that fighting in all cases leads to depression, to opportunistically lambaste Don Cherry. Ludicrous. Disgusting, from my point of view. What Lawless, or Rypien's agent, or anybody won't confirm, is what we really need to know, the first step to – really – ending the “stigma,” that Rypien committed suicide.

A 27-year old professional athlete does not drop dead for no reason. Had it been a heart condition or medical problem, it would have surfaced right away. Had it been an overdose, as in Derek Boogard's case, it would have also come out. But the real reason is too much of a hard truth, and the “stigma” remains just that. It is intentional to keep this hidden, nobody wants to talk about it. Five days after his death, it is still reported as “not suspicious.” Nobody wants to confront it. And the truth is, hard truths are difficult to tackle.

Rypien had depression for at least a decade.

You aren't cured from depression or any mental illness in a handful of weeks or months. It is ongoing. There are regressions. Setbacks. Medication. Therapy, change in therapist, change in doctors, change in medication. And that is if everything is going just fine, in a safe, secure environment. Rypien's was far from safe and secure.

Bouncing around the NHL, AHL, between cities, away from any support networks he might have, would have only exacerbated his situation, inhibiting any possibility of a solid recovery. The lack of a real friend, not just a roomate. But at ten years, it can easily be said that this kind of depression, is not the kind that ever gets cured. This was no doubt a lifelong illness.

Rick's best bet was to take time off, visit and stay at a mental health facility, such as Selkirk. The very same one that houses Vince Li, the very same facility that many an outraged Manitoban insisted a permanent wall or fence be built to keep the mentally ill imprisoned inside, circa 19th century Russia.

The horror. As the CBC reported in June 2010, “Currently, there is not even a fence around the grounds.” Not even a fence!

Here's a hard truth-ism for everyone. There is little in this world that is more horrifying or personally tragic than personally knowing somebody who has comitted suicide. It is unexpected, and many won't even be aware of a mental illness-related infliction. One day you're a 27 year-old professional athlete. The next day, you aren't around. The weight of how horrifying and tragic this is can be “measured” almost in a qunatitative fashion if you will, by the extent of the media coverage on the incident. Especially here, in Winnipeg. It was as if we lost a member of our own family.

So what can be done? Aside from Winnipeg Jets GM insisting he will take steps to adress these issues, whatever that means. What can really be done? There are a few things that need to happen, and when these things do (and they most likely will never) happen, the media and even maybe Gary Lawless in particular, can do their part as journalists and redirect the public perception of mental illness and alter the direction of “stigma” talk in professional sport.

The first step, is to admit that Rypien committed suicide. His family, his agent, need to communicate the end result of his battle with major depression.

From that, the media and journalists can communicate how serious of an issue this can be, and that the consequences are more than serious. It could result in a hockey player never realizing his full potential. Or ending his career. Or worse, ending his own life. The focus cannot be on “how happy he seemed” and other such things from casual observers. All the stereotypical responses can start to be deconstructed and taken apart. “Everyone has a mental illness these days” is simply a joke. Say that to Rypien. Say that to Hannover goalkeeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide in 2009.

To help the media, some basic numbers might be of assistance to highlight just how thick a rug these things are being swept under. Not the “undeniable” medical opinions of sports journos. Conservatively, depression affects 9% of the population of the US. Of that, 3% of those people commit suicide. Let us translate these numbers to the NHL, using just the number of players a team can dress, at 20. That would mean the pool of NHL players we're talking about is 600. Nine percent of that means that approximately 54 players are living with depression as per the US National average. And of those 54...1.6 are at risk of committing suicide. In other words, almost two players per team are “hiding their dark emotions,” and at least one player at any one time in the NHL, could be on the brink.

Lastly, the most important step. Someone in the NHL, a player, an alumni, a GM, a coach, needs to come forward, enter the spotlight, and disclose their personal story of how mental illness has affected them as a person and as a player.

Not a single NHL player has come out and said that they themselves also live with depression, or any other mental illness that affects their day-to-day lives.

Not. A single. Person.

You'd think with all the players running charities for kids with cancer and poverty and the like, somebody might step up for the mental health comunity in a big way.

Nothing would be more impactful than to have an NHL player talk about their condition. Not only to other players with similar stories, but to a nation that follows hockey more closely than we follow our country's politics. This would do more than any, ANY sports journalist claiming to want to end the stigma, to address the problems, then move on to lists of quotes from teammates about how happy someone seemed to be. And, it would do more to put a huamn face on the plight of mental illness, to break down the barriers between people with more serious mental disabilities. Nobody would dare suggest Rick Rypien be housed in Selkirk for treatment...if only it had a barbed wire fence around it.

See how far just one person from the NHL acting as a spokesperson could be...

Like Clara Hughes. Almost un-arguably Canada's most decorated athlete.

More relevant to hockey however, let's remember one of the greatest players of the game. Another Winnipegger. None other than the legendary Terry Sawchuk. These people's struggles shouldn't be in vain. But they are. And it will take the community of sports journalists across the country, Rypien's family, his agent, the management of the Winnipeg Jets, and at least one current player stepping up, to reverse course.

I'll end this piece with a quote from Vancouver GM Mark Gillis, which puts so many things into so succinct a statement.

“ For everything he had accomplished in his life, it's remarkable that that's how powerful his illness was."

**Lawless, in his short-sightedness, conveniently forgot to talk about another recent enforcer death, Bobby Probert. Probert did not die of depression-related or fighting-related conditions. And Probert, one of the most legendary fighters in the game, probably threw and took more punches than Rypien and Boogard combined. Guess that “undeniable link” has some holes in it. Back to med school, Gary.

Winnipeg Sun promotes dehumanizing perceptions

2011-08-26T14:04:00.003-05:00

Mark Horvath, the homeless awareness activist travelling the continent (and currently Canada) has just been bitchslapped by the Winnipeg Sun for all his hard, humanitarian work.

The Winnipeg Sun is running two stories on "bums" and "aggressive panhandlers" with the front-page headline "BUM RUSH." Which is exactly the kind of bullshit that Mark is fighting to change. Perception of homeless people.

Everything the Winnipeg Sun published today is put to shame by this video, shot not ten minutes before my first meeting with Mark, in Winnipeg.

Yeah. This guy is a fuckin' menace to society.

Enforce them bylaws. Tom Brodbeck is scared.

Winnipeg Free Press buries Cathy Rushton firing

2011-08-22T12:09:00.004-05:00

Buried? Ignored? Or maybe editor Margo Goodhand decided that Rushton's firing for some reason, wasn't news worthy?

The Free Press decided to say something about it today even though Rushton, largely responsible for the silencing of The Great Canadian Talk Show, was fired....

...At the end of May.

Almost 3 months ago.

Suspiciously concordant with this well-timed breaking-news story about Rushton getting sacked, is a story about how Stephanie Forsyth wants to build sports complexes as part of Red River College.

I might have conceded the conspiracy argument had the firing been, say, last week, and Forsyth's ambitions came out today. But this isn't the case, Rushton was fired nearly THREE months ago.

Forsyth also comments on the Union Bank Tower building, and how some of it is behind schedule. According to my sources, Rushton was terminated because of gross mismanagement, lack of oversight and major delays on the Union Bank project. No comment about this is in Nick Martin's piece, just in the "Rushton was fired 3 months ago" blurb.

Once again, the Free Press reports history.

Farewell to Aqua Books; a message from Kelly Hughes

2011-08-12T14:16:00.004-05:00

Aqua Books and Eat! have reached a sad end.

This letter is from owner Kelly Hughes, which he sent out a couple of days ago. It is something that was written honestly and you can tell this was not an easy decision, or one that Kelly even wanted to make.

Kelly and Candace are two examples of true heroes in Winnipeg. With their hard work, investing not just their money but insane amounts of time and energy, they helped make downtown a place that a lot of us want to spend a lot of time in. Without people like this, local trailblazers, local entrepreneurs, our urban core would be as rotten as it was in decades past. "A tasteless donut" as I described it in my bio, for when Kelly invited me to be a guest on his live talk show, Kelly Hughes Live.

Aqua will be missed. There's just nothing else like it. It wasn't just a book store and a little restaurant. It really was the cultural city hall of Winnipeg, with all the events and promotion that was done for the arts community, it was a magnet for like-minds. There simply is no replacement.

Winnipeg is slightly less rich now without this institution. People with vision and the determination to create something out of nothing are few and far between, and Kelly and Candace succeeded in cementing themselves as part of the fabric that makes up our little prairie community.

Thanks Kelly, thanks Candace.

* * * * *
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Anyone who's had a crack at Grade 11 English will be familiar with the first line of A Tale of Two Cities. It also fits as an opener for what I have to tell you, with apologies to Mr. Dickens, and apologies to You.

Candace and I are, quite honestly, pretty devastated to announce that the doors of Aqua Books and EAT! bistro will be closing forever. We 've had a great ride, but unfortunately the financial burden has become too much.

I started dreaming about doing what I'm doing now almost two decades ago. What Candace and I and our team have been able to realize here at 274 Garry Street is exactly what I envisioned. Great books, great food, creative people coming together and sharing their passion, their art and their knowledge. It's the kind of place I would want to go (if I ever had time to go anywhere).

But this dream was a big swing. 8400 square feet in the heart of Downtown Winnipeg (in a rundown old Chinese restaurant) with a bookstore, a restaurant, event spaces, a bar, writers' studios....And if I'm going to continue to work the baseball metaphor, let me also misquote Kinsella: "If you build it, they will come." We built Winnipeg's Cultural City Hall, and they came. You came.

You came, and you made it what it is. And for my part, I've done whatever I had to do to keep the dream alive. And finally, under the weight of too many bills, we've come to the end of the road. (And I'm willing to take responsibility for that. I hate it when a business closes, and it's everyone's fault but their own.) It's good to finally fill you in on the situation. I owe you that much.

It's certainly always been tough to be in the book business, and things have only become more difficult with time. When McNally Robinson closed half of their stores, they named e-books as the big culprit. True, you can't sell e-books unless you're Amazon or Chapters. But folks that are e-reading are still readers reading. They are likely to buy a book now and then.

The real problem with bookselling is something I have alluded to in the last couple of months. It's a cultural shift away from reading. Smart phones, Facebook, and The Internet are all part of what has replaced reading time. I won't beat it to death, but it's an irreversible change in people's habits. You may still read and love books as much as you always have, but you are now in the minority. Book sales here have dropped 30% in the last year. (That's why McNally seems like it's all saltshakers and aprons these days.)

Making the decision to pull the plug has been a tough place for me to get to. Putting Winnipeg's Cultural City Hall together was the biggest, most difficult thing I've ever done in my whole life. I've spent 56,000 hours trying to create and maintain what you see here. It's been tiring at times, even for me. But I feel like Candace and I have created something bigger than ourselves. We've created an artists' village in the heart of Winnipeg that doesn't belong to just us anymore.

Unfortunately, the ultimate responsibility and fiscal load does belong to us alone. But unlike Sysyphus, I can't keep pushing this giant rock up the hill for all eternity. The beige-ification of our communities by corporate money is a steep hill indeed. We have won awards, and mentions in MacLean's and Quill & Quire, and even a few hearts and minds, but turning all of this goodwill into enough cash to support such an ambitious project has in the end eluded me.

I think I've fought the good fight, but we may be heading into a brave new world (look at me and all my book metaphors) where bookstores don't really a have a place. As we go dark, please continue to support the few remaining small ventures and community-based businesses that are holding the tide back. Pollock's Hardware Co-op, Tallest Poppy and Neechi Foods Co-op are just a couple that leap to mind.

Thanks so much to all of you who have supported us over the years. We look forward to seeing you in the next few weeks as we wind down. (More words will follow. Until I tell you different, we will be on regular hours, and all scheduled events will go forward as planned. We want to have more of a wake than a funeral.)

Candace has been pleased to make so many regulars happy, and to help so many people with allergies and food issues feel normal about doing one of the most social things - eating. I think that she would still like to do some catering after this if she has the opportunity.

As for me, I can't express how grateful I am to have met and worked with so many wonderful people. (In truth, even though I seem to be losing my mayoral seat, I'd love it if Winnipeg's Cultural City Hall could outlive Sam Katz's Hall of Horrors. Any ideas?). Although I'm headed into an uncertain future, I've had a great run - all the way around the bases and back to home. Not sure what waits behind the plate, but I've had the chance to do, for a moment, what I wanted to do. Not everyone gets to do that.

And I'm happy that what I've wanted to do has also been what so many of you wanted to come and do, too. Thanks for that.

Cheers
K

Interview and Downtown walking tour with Mark Horvath from invisiblepeople.tv

2011-08-09T16:52:00.002-05:00

Continuing my three-day blogging blitz for CDI College's event tonight at 6:30 honoring Mark Horvath's work on homeless awareness/activism, I spent a couple hours today giving Mark a walking tour of downtown. Mark is a great conversationalist. With his 8 years of personal homelessness and struggles, his two @invisiblepeople tours across America, and now halfway through a Canadian tour, he has a lot of experience and knowledge to draw from.

Mark is a one-man show. He's his own crew, his own camera man, his own video editor, website updater, and his own tweeter-er, at his own account @hardlynormal as well as the @invisiblepeople account.

Meeting at Twist Cafe downtown, as a blogger, I didn't want to ask him the easy loft questions like "how'd you get started" and "why are you doing this" and these sorts of things. Decided to go right for the jugular, and described the situation in Winnipeg. The urban situation. The negative way in which the 740 000 or so people who don't live downtown view downtown. The irrational, strange fear that people have of panhandlers, poverty, and homelessness.

Mark took to the more conversational "interview" well and immediately took up the offer to talk more in depth about perception and perspective.

"If I have to look at homeless, I have to take responsibility. And if I have to take responsibility, that means I have to solve it."

Why take on all that work if you can just drive back to your suburban home and pretend you didn't see anything? Or continue silly just-get-a-job diatribes? Mark opined further on that.

"Urban living isn't for everybody. It isn't for a lot of people," referring to how living in an urban environment appeals to few. Most people, especially here, embrace the suburban home. People gravitate to areas where they are comfortable, where there are other people like themselves. "In any city, any downtown I'm in - I love being downtown, in urban places. Any downtown I'm in, the thing that jumps out to me the most, the first thing I look for, are the lofts. Like how cool would it be to live in the penthouse in that building?"

It sure is unusual to hear something like that around these parts. A small contingent of people aspire to or look forward to moving downtown. The hip, chic, young professional type crowd. What draws Mark to these areas? The mix and diversity of people who live there. That on the same block, live the person in the loft, the person in the apartment, the shop owner, and street people.

I told about what I think is the most fascinating place in Winnipeg: the Portage Place food court. The diversity, the mix. Then he said something no 'Pegger would ever say. "You tell me about this mall, and the kind of people that are there, and I want to go see it. That's a place I would feel comfortable."

Strange hearing an outsider's perspective eh? As I'm working on this piece, blogger colleague Rob Galston happens to be squatting at the same non-crappy-hotspot wifi cafe I am, and figures at best, 30%, maybe 35% of Winnipeggers might say they feel comfortable at the Portage Place food court.

So away we went. As we passed a group of African immigrants in the food court, he quickly identified them as Sudanese, the reason he was able to do so is because before he was homeless, he filmed in Sudan during a period when he wasn't even legally allowed to be there for political reasons between the Sudan-American governments (as I said, his depth of experience has given him a lot of knowledge and perspective on all walks of life). I explained the history behind the creation of the mall, among other factoids about downtown. From there we ventured to Central park.

As we stood in Central Park, I remarked how many people I know including my mother, would be concerned for me if they knew where I was standing at the moment. Mark was perplexed. Children were in the fanciest splash pad in the city, and not 30 metres away was a homeless man sleeping on a bench.

We walked down to the Exchange, to show him the area of downtown I was most familiar with. Sure enough we ran into some of the homeless regulars I recognized. Mark walks right up and introduces himself, asks if they would like to share their story on video. A native man showed us his heavily bruised collar bone and shoulder, telling us that he had panhandled all day yesterday, and was only able to buy a single king can. He was jumped and beaten for it.

All declined to share their stories on video, but that didn't stop Mark's generosity. To every homeless person he offers a new pair of socks, which are never turned down.

On the way back to the Delta, Mark explained that these are the - visible - street people. They can be found in any city, in any urban area. This is the face of homelessness that people recognize, but it isn't necessarily what he's searching for. He tours to find the homeless mothers trying to raise a family, homeless in the LGBT community, the - invisible - homeless population.

But his documentation and social media-driven awareness and activism project doesn't necessarily leave the visible out. Everyone is given the offer to share their story, and a clean pair of socks.

Before parting our downtown tour for his next appointment, Mark said that he wishes he could walk around all downtowns, in all cities, but rarely gets the chance to. He shared with me one more piece of information Winnipeggers should all be aware of. That all across Canada, through the rest of the West, he has heard rumours and grumblings about coming here.

Apparently we aren't just known as the murder capital or the car theft capital of Canada, but we also have a reputation for having a dangerous downtown where you are likely to get mugged. But on his walk with me to Central Park, down Ellice, to the Exchange, up Fort back to Graham avenue and to the Delta, he didn't see anything that concerned him or made him think that our downtown is any different from any other average downtown, despite all the warnings given to him.

CDI College has been streaming videos from Mark's invisiblepeople.tv site for the last couple days. Executive Director of the college Tahl East, says response has been amazing, that students and passers by through the lobby stop to watch and end up glued to the screen.

By watching and listening to the stories, one at a time, Mark Horvath is helping to raise awareness about homelessness and poverty. Giving these people a voice and the opportunity to be heard and listened to, is what it is all about.

And in that spirit, CDI College has created a new scholarship honouring Mark's humanitarian efforts. The "We Are Visible" scholarship will be announced tonight, at CDI College at Main and Graham, in the parking lot at 6:30pm.

Everyone is welcome. Come down and listen to Mark's presentation.

CDI College: "We Are Visible" scholarship

2011-08-08T14:20:00.005-05:00

CDI's mission is to change lives through education.

They will do precisely that with a new scholarship in honour of Mark Horvath's inspiring activism bringing awareness to It will officially be announced tomorrow at CDI College on Main Street, outside in the parking lot, during a presentation by Mark. The event starts at 6:30pm and all are welcome.

The scholarship is aimed at people who have financial need and may not have access to education, and who demonstrate that they are using social media to change the world. Reflective of Mark Horvath's work, the award will highlight the importance overcoming misconceptions about social issues.

"We Are Visible" offers full tuition including books and materials for any of CDI's programs.

A special committee chosen by non-profit and NGO sponsors of Mark Horvath's "We Are Visible Tour of Canada" will review the applications and go through the selection process.

Again, the event tomorrow is at CDI College on Main Street at 6:30pm in the parking lot (...they DO have a purpose!) Everyone is welcome.

You can follow Mark on the Twitter, @hardlynormal and the Invisible People project here, @invisiblepeople

CDI College sponsors new scholarship, raising awareness about homelessness

2011-08-07T20:12:00.005-05:00

Progressive, good news.

CDI College on Main Street is teaming up with an activist for homeless people, Mark Horvath. Mark is currently on a long journey, travelling all across North America, to film and interview homeless people across the continent, to give them a voice, to let their stories be heard.

Mark's story is quite extraordinary. At one time, he had a great paying job in the film industry in LA. A few bad decisions and addictions later, he was homeless himself. He has since picked himself back up, and is using his experience to do humanitarian work.

The goal is education. All of us are only a step or two away from being homeless ourselves. It is easy to forget that.

"Invisible People" is the name of the documentary project. On the site, you can view videos of homeless people's stories.

I am hoping this rather remarkable project can have an impact in Winnipeg. Even if it is just a tiny little dent. People's attitudes towards people on the streets here is abysmal and more depressing than the issue of homelessness itself. These invisible people are often looked down upon and when discussing issues related to homelessness in our inner city and downtown, and to hear or read people discussing these things, often makes me think that somewhere amongst suburban-generated fear of street people, it is forgotten that they aren't actually people.

Which makes the title of the project incredibly fitting. And Mark's campaign an important, respectable, and noble one. To show the human side of a part of society that is all but ignored.

CDI College has decided to step up to the plate and create a new scholarship in Mark Horvath's honour. I'll be posting some details on the scholarship tomorrow.

Mark is on the Twitter @hardlynormal and the Invisible People project also has a Twitter account, here.

Come down to CDI College on Main at 6:30PM Tuesday to hear Mark's message and presentation.

Syria: Libya's NATO-less twin

2011-08-03T22:35:00.007-05:00

What would have happened in Libya, had the West not intervened? The bloodbath and massacre everyone expected? Human rights abuses on a grand scale? Another Rwanda?

We may now have the answers to this. As the world stands idly by and watches Syria, another dictatorship-lead nation, use violence in plain view against its own citizens, and its own protest movement.

Syria is everything that Western governments, including Canada, were so concerned about in Libya. Human rights abuses, loss of life on a mass scale, violent endings to peaceful protests, mass arrests and disappearances, cutting off of phone and internet access, expelling journalists, and a dictator in power who is willing to do whatever it takes to quash dissent. Not only were we so concerned about it, political leadership of Western governments were appalled at the idea that we should maybe not intervene. To paraphrase President Obama, "countless lives have been saved because of the coalition."

The House of Commons voted 294 - 1 to extend Canada's involvement in the Libya Intervention. The only voice of reason, evidently, was MP Elizabeth May, who said she didn't want to give "a blank cheque to a mission that doesn't have an exit strategy." Before that vote, Canada had already dropped 240 bombs on Libya before the House vote.

This ongoing quagmire may be propping up a group of rebels who have their own internal struggles and their own allegations of human rights abuses - the same thing we hastily sent our CF-18's (Jets) over to protect the people of Libya from. That makes the mission look really bad, especially after you and most of the rest of the allies involved have recognized and endorsed the rebels as the legitimate government of Libya.

That vote in the House occurred on June 14, the same day that had Canada recognize the "rebels" as government. Just 30 days into our extension, Human Rights Watch accused the rebels of their own set of abuses against the Libyan people. Fast forward two weeks to July 28th, when the Rebel's military leader and Gaddhafi defector, General Abdul Fateh Younes, was assassinated.

Blame for the death of General Younes has been directed within the rebel ranks. A witch hunt of sorts is under way to determine if any rebels are Gaddhafi supporters in disguise. Surely, this will help their cause. Only two weeks prior to General Younes' death, NATO met with the rebels Transitional National Council (TNC). In a press release by NATO, it was agreed upon by the two sides that the Gaddhafi regime has "lost all legitimacy."

It may be NATO, that has lost it's legitimacy. Or perhaps the entire Western Coalition, who strode in like knights in shining armour to save the Libyan people, or something like that. After all of this, it is Vladimir Putin who comes out smelling like a rose.

Putin evidently understands that intervening for the purpose of saving civilians, but only allowing yourself to use bombs, inherently means that the very people you are trying to save will be killed by said bombs. Putin said the following after voting on the UN Security Resolution in March:

"During the Clinton era they bombed Belgrade, Bush sent forces into Afghanistan, then under an invented, false pretext they sent forces into Iraq, liquidated the entire Iraqi leadership -- even children in Saddam Hussein's family died.

"Now it is Libya's turn, under the pretext of protecting the peaceful population, but in bomb strikes it is precisely the civilian population that gets killed. Where is the logic and the conscience?"

Indeed Putin, in retrospect, has given a spanking to the Coalition. How many Civilians were killed by NATO during the campaign? Thankfully this kind of information is available.

1. NATO bombing campaign from March through mid-July has claimed approximately 1100 lives.
2. NATO air strike kills 11 on July 25.
3. NATO air strike kills 3 on July 30.

Very Howard Zinn-esque, a well-known and widely read anti-war activist and academic. Time to pull out the quotes.

"We need to decide that we will not go to war, whatever reason is conjured up by the politicians or the media, because war in our time is always indiscriminate, a war against innocents, a war against children. " Howard Zinn

Putin is 100% right. Children in the Hussein family were killed, as were grandchildren of Gaddhafi in Libya, killed in a NATO airstrike. And like Iraq, a reason had to be created for entering Libya, so the reason of protecting civilians against human rights atrocities was put forward. On the surface it seems noble, and seems like the right thing to do. However it sets the dangerous precedent of intervention against dictatorships involved in Arab Spring protests.

Such as Bahrain. Saudi Arabia. Iran. Yemen. Jordan. And for the purposes of this post, Syria.

Now that the tanks have rolled into Syrian towns and opened fire, the Coalition, NATO, and our country's leaders have some real hard questions to ask themselves, and we of them.

Protests in Syria began in late January, following the string of countries infected by the events in Tunisia. Through the last few months, myself and much of the humanitarian community have been watching Syria in particular with close interest. With each new event, things got a little darker. Until a week ago, Al Jazeera English posed the question: Would the West interfere in Syria?

The answer, so far, is a definitive 'no.' Between the total disinterest displayed by the West from "protecting Syrian civilians from human rights atrocities" like we are "doing" in Libya, and five countries holding veto power over the UN council on another military intervention (including Russia), the answer will remain a definitive 'no.'

Here's a short recap I've put together on Syria.

1. End of May: A 13 year old's tortured, mangled body is returned to his parents, providing inspiration to intensify the protest movement against the Assad regime.

2. June 1st (two weeks before House of Commons vote on Libya extension): Human Rights Watch releases documentation of human rights abuses in the city of Daraa.

3. By the end of June, it is beyond evident that the arrests, tortures, and treatment of protestors is systematic.

4. July 5th: Amnesty International releases documentation of human rights abuses in Tell Kalakh.

5. July 8: Over half a million people gather to protest in the city of Hama, about the same size as Winnipeg. The remarkable protest was coupled with a city-wide strike.

6. July 31: Tanks roll with force into Hama, killing 142. The square in the centre of Hama was occupied by protesters.

This sparked an interesting comment from US diplomat in Syria, given the US' involvement in spearheading Libya's intervention: "JJ Harder, a US diplomat in Damascus, told Al Jazeera that the violence in Hama amounted to "full-on warfare" and a final act of desperation."

7. August 3rd: Events in Syria did not draw international attention until after tanks rolled into the city of Hama.

8. To date, over 2000 Syrians have been killed since March. There are reports that 26 000 have been arrested and over 12 000 remain in detention. Some 3000 are reported as disappeared.

From Al Jazeera English: A response of proportional size in the United States, by way of comparison, would have meant more than 136,000 people detained and 20,450 killed.

9. The UN releases a statement condemning the use of violence by the Assad regime.

* * *

In closing, Syria is a place that will be hard to watch in the coming weeks and months. Efforts to stop protests have been increasing since they began in March. No meaningful resolutions have been passed by the UN, and no military intervention will happen, with Russia and China rightfully fearing a repeat of the no-end-in-sight Libya mission.

It is imperative that the international community act in some capacity to put pressure on Assad to step down.

Likewise, it is imperative that our politicians in Canada step up and contribute to or provide leadership on other avenues of action that are non-military in nature. When the Libya extension draws to a close, after a ten year engagement in Afghanistan, after the US invasion and occupation of Iraq since 2003, and the ongoing Libya intervention that was supposed to only take "a week or two," we must consider ending our overseas involvement in these un-winnable wars and to not engage in any new ones.

I believe I am in the majority when I say I do not support any military action or mission extensions after what we have witnessed in the past decade. I can only hope our leaders realize this as well.

Perception

2011-08-01T00:56:00.011-05:00

After avoiding saying anything about the Jets logo, I have to break my silence. Bart Kives' article today on "militarism" has sparked a tidal wave of typical online forum-type comments where people bash the crap out of each other and post flamebait. As have all pieces on the new logo.

I'm going to present two ideas here. One, that there isn't actually a huge debate over the logo and that it is a small group of people who hate it for whatever reason and two, that if Mark Chipman had not mentioned the Royal Canadian Air Force at all during the logo-unveiling press conference then there wouldn't be any sort of debate about "militarism."

* * * * * * * *
There isn't actually much debate

One of the wonders of the internet is that small things are blown out of proportion by the ability to spam up message boards and unite with your fellow haters to form a hater-union. It is made possible by their enemies, the hate-the-haters-union, who if left unmoderated, would leave a trail of insults and offensive drivel only to piss the other side off more so that their insult war continues, and continues to escalate.

You can leave a message board or comment thread with the feeling that something is amiss or that people really don't like an idea or any such thing. It probably doesn't need to be said but comment sections aren't exactly accurate representations of people. If they were, pollsters would conduct their research by mining news articles for comments. Thankfully, they don't.

My "evidence" for "there isn't really a debate" is only anecdotal and observational. This past Friday, I was able to listen in on a wide variety and large number of people sound off about the logo.

For the past two months, I have been doing public art with chalk in Assiniboine Park. This past weekend, I decided to lay down a big, 8-foot wide Jets logo. On a hot Friday evening, many people come across the bridge with their Sargent Sundae for a stroll in the Park. Friday however, also had a massive gathering for an outdoor ballet show at the Lyric Stage.

Most people just plain thought it was awesome that I was putting this logo on the sidewalk. Many gave me enthusiastic encouragement or "yeah, JETS!" kinds of things. People stop to chat and only one person out of the I-honestly-have-no-idea-how-many stopped to rant to me about how the logo was terrible and too militaristic and how he would never, ever buy anything with the new logo on it.

Other than that, all my observations come from people who would say something, but not till they walked past me (presumably because they didn't want me to hear them), but were still in earshot. Do you like the logo? Yeah I think it's good. Do you like the logo? Ah, it's okay I guess. Hey, that's the new Jets logo, what do you think? "Meh, it's too Air Force-ey," one guy said.

Air Force-ey?

I had no control over who these people were or what they said or what kind of conversations they started. At least a thousand people came for the ballet. It's not empirical evidence but hey, it's a large sample size and there weren't a heck of a lot of outright negative comments about it, even as people were having conversations walking away.

Here's something else that is less of a personal anecdote and more something that everyone can notice: the new Jets merchandise.

It's freaking everywhere. It's sold out. It doesn't stay on the shelves. And people wear it everywhere, too. This past week? You're more likely to see a brand new Jets shirt than you are an old Jets shirt or sweater.

People have already embraced this logo. Winnipeg has already embraced the new team, the new logo, everything. There's a few naysayers out there. So what. Hardly enough to call it a "raging debate" of any kind.

My prediction? On October 9th? You will see more new Jets logo-wearing fans than old Jets logo-wearing fans.

* * * * * * * * *
Idea 2: too bad we can't retroactively do a double-blind

Air Force-ey. Militaristic. Some people apparently abhor the connection a "Jet" may have to the military. However the same people apparently also have no qualms with our professional football team being named the "Bombers," a name that makes no reference to any sort of military weapon whatsoever.

It is unfortunate that this vociferous anti-militaristic crowd doesn't engage more in politics, we may not have spent 10 years in Afghanistan and we may not currently be bombing Libya.

But I digress.

If there was no fanfare, no press conference, and no explanation as to what kinds of symbolism things in the Jets logo had, what would have happened?

I know this is a hypothetical question. But to me, it begs to be asked. Mark Chipman specifically referenced the Air Force. That meant, all of a sudden, that our Jets went from being imaginary flying things with two wings, to being an F-18 flown by a member of the RCAF.

Our hockey team isn't associated with the military in any way, we don't have some kind of partnership with them, True North isn't involved with the military. But just to "pay tribute" and acknowledge that tribute put some people on edge about the whole idea.

You're right if you think that sports teams and the military have nothing to do with each other. Nobody thinks "military" or "air force" when they see a professional sports team.

And I'm not sure anyone would have. If it was never mentioned.

If there was a presser and "here's the logo," and it was just unveiled, just shown, here it is, what do you think? If there was no story about being influenced by the RCAF?

Would people still make the "militaristic" connection? Remember, this "military" thing wasn't even in our minds at all prior to the new logo. Can we go back in time and do it again just to see if I'm right?

One last question. What if the Jet was in the shape of an Avro Arrow? Would it be "too militaristic" or nostalgic awesomeness? Just asking.

Unfortunately for us anti-war humanitarian types, some killing machines are just more embraced by the public than others. Especially old killing machines that aren't used anymore. And fighter jets in general are considered to be "cool," which is why air shows are so popular; seeing things that are designed for and used to kill people is for some reason fascinating to people who never have to experience their wrath. Make a connection to a hockey team and ho boy, watch out.

If my opinion matters at all, I think the new logo is fucking awesome. Simple and unassuming, something that will look great on sweaters, will look great at centre ice, and like the old logo, it won't become dated any time soon.

Open Letter to Mayor Sam Katz

2011-07-24T20:58:00.004-05:00

There's lots to say about cycling, cyclists, and bike paths and the like these days. If it is coming from me, chances are it will be pretty critical. I was made aware of this open letter via Twitter, and after reading it couldn't help but shake my head. I'll stand with the cyclists on this one.

To make perfectly clear, this was not written by me, and was also not written as any kind of "guest contribution" for my site.

* * * * *

Mr. Mayor,

My name is Jean-Francois Ravenelle, and I am the President and General Manager of Gord's Ski and Bike.

Excuse me if I feel the need to bring this recent situation to your attention:

First off, I'd like to preface this letter with the following: For the record, I fully support the men and women of the Winnipeg Police Service. I think they are doing a phenomenal job and should be commended more often. This is not an issue with the WPS, this is an issue with people like this officer who decided, for whatever reason, that biking on 12 feet of sidewalk is deserving of threats and intimidation tactics.

We have been hosting Nightly group rides in the city for the past 10 years under my leadership. Our bike club has a membership of over 300 members and these members include members of Winnipeg's Police and Firefighting services as well as people of all walks of life who simply wish to ride our extensive network of paved and unpaved trails... respectfully using roadways to connect said trails... Sometimes using short portions of sidewalk to access these trails.

The "cyclists" on these rides are not zealots, we wear very little spandex, we are responsible citizens that practice safe, COURTEOUS, off-road biking along the rivers and pathways of Winnipeg. Our groups vary in size between 10 and 40 riders and we enforce the use of helmets, safety gear as well as the respect of property and laws. We promote safe, responsible and sustained cycling as well as maintain trails and offer education to cyclists throughout the city.

Our latest experience with a member of the Winnipeg Police Service was at about 7:30pm July 20th near the Maryland bridge at Miserecordia. There an officer was doing laser speed enforcement on the north side of the bridge (pointing his 'gun' towards the northbound oncoming traffic, we rolled by (coming up Cornish avenue) going down to the trail that begins under the Mariland bridge... We rode on 12 feet of sidewalk and because of that, this officer took exception, told everyone to get off their bikes and walk towards him (at that point we were on the lawn of the Cornish Library, waiting for other riders to join us and making sure that the path ahead was clear of pedestrians, as we always do).

He then pointed out that if he so chose to, he could very well issue citations for all 28 of us ... He asked who the 'group leader' was and I stepped up. I listened to him calmly as he was clearly upset and agitated with us. Probably because someone in the group had humorously yelled "sneaky" a few minutes earlier as they rode by (presumably because he was crouched behind a recycle bin with his laser gun 30 yards away from his car that was parked in the Miserecordia BFI bin parking lot).

When we asked several questions in order to make certain that we could ride away without breaking any more laws, we were clearly informed of his by-the-letter interpretation of the HSA. But to be informed that bike tires "killed grass" and thus we would not be allowed ride our off-road mountain bikes off-road was a shocker... almost as much as to be told that no bikes are allowed to ride on city property (in this case next to the Cornish public library) as this would constitute trespassing. This Officer clearly implied that bikes should only be ridden on asphalt and more particularly on roadways.

The officer was wearing his WPS uniform with a safety vest over it, we could not see his number but he had blond hair clean-cut hair, about 5'8", told us he was a bike patrol officer who was putting in overtime doing traffic control that particular night... Reminding us, once again that it was illegal to ride on grass, that we should only ride our bikes on the road with cars (he added that paved trails are for pedestrians only)... we mentioned kindly and politely that we were simply just trying to link bike trails. To that he added "these are not bike trails, if you ride on property, even if it's city property you are trespassing".

He kept on saying "I'm exercising restraint, I could write every single one of you for $111 for riding on the sidewalk".... Then, as he was giving his speech to everyone, a drunk individual on a bike rode by on his bike, cursing us for blocking the sidewalk (something that we were ordered to do as we were on the grass in front of the library before that officer decided to separate us from our bikes)... Mid-sentence the officer then chose to run after this cyclist, grabbed him by his backpack and wrestled him off his bike... talked to him for a few seconds and then walked back towards our stunned group to resume his lecture.

The officer was clearly agitated by this entire episode.

I remained calm, shook his hand at the end of our "chat". We had 27 witnesses that were present during this exchange ... Many have come forward offering to voice their concerns that this kind of behaviour does nothing but further fuel the growing issue that is Bike vs WPG.

This issue could have been handled MUCH differently and with a much more positive result. Instead this officer chose confrontation and intimidation as a tool to enforce a law that is clearly flexible.

As a business owner, bike rider and concerned citizen, I am worried that this is just a small indicator of what is turning into a contentious and dangerous issue... one that is on the cusp of reaching a boiling point... One that makes people think twice before hopping on a bike, one where zealots are taking control of the issue, one where the simple joy of riding a bike in this city is dismantled by people like this officer, who's ill temper and zeal to enforce questionable laws to the letter will turn this city into the opposite of a bike friendly municipality.

I will be sending this email to as many councilors and media outlets as I can, to whoever can help spread the word... with the hopes that cooler heads will prevail and that something good can come of this.

Not all "cyclists" are activists, not all "cyclists" even like that descriptor as we don't own safety vests or anything made of hemp, in fact many of us own nice cars, we practice "cycling" as a recreational sport, not a lifestyle, we are business owners, physicians, police officers, firefighters, government employees, students and parents, we just like to ride bikes in a respectful fashion and most of us don't commute to work simply because it's not safe to do so yet in this city. We'd like our voice heard.

Oh, one last thing, and forgive me if I conclude this email tongue in cheek... I don't know if anyone at city hall or at the WPS knows this interesting fact: The sport of biking is not limited to asphalt.

Thank you for your time.

_____________________________________________________
Jean-François Ravenelle | JF@Gords.com
President, General Manager

Gord's Ski and Bike | www.Gords.com

Let's stop pretending, that's the world class thing to do

2011-07-22T01:56:00.005-05:00

It's a long way to go to match world class.

A long, long, long, super, super-super-stupid long way, if you're the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Three years ago, the CMHR announced that they would be world class and compared themselves to the esteemed Guggenheim in Spain. They announced that the little humble CMHR in Winnipeg, would draw 250 000 visitors a year. It was then found that this figure included hits to their website. I calculated that this is over 500 people a day to the CMHR, including weekends and holidays.

New York's Metro Museum of Art as it is reported, attracted 5.6 million people last year. Which was up 400 000 from the previous year.

Great Scot! The world class museum increased their attendance by double what our CMHR's yearly attendance is projected to be. And our projected yearly attendance is just 3.8% of what the Metro Art gets yearly.

Let's stop pretending we're in the same league as these real museums. I'll also remind everyone that Bodies drew 20 000 in 5 months.

If we knew Bodies would never leave us, would we draw 250 000 every 5 months? Every 10 months? In a year? Every year?

Charades.

CLINIC reviews are in! Big Top Fringe Fest 2011

2011-07-17T17:49:00.003-05:00

Reviews have come in for our Fringe Fest show CLINIC and wow are we ever ecstatic!

We've worked incredibly hard over the past ten months to create this, we wrote it ourselves, and in the last week, so many things have gone so completely wrong that we weren't even sure we'd be able to pull this off at all. But we've succeeded beyond what we've been imagining since last fall.

You can read my first post about CLINIC I put up the other day.

The CBC review is our best one:

Sometimes when you hear that a Fringe play is about troubled teens, you just expect unedited, painfully dramatic monologues about unprotected sex. And although angst-ridden monologues make up a chunk of CLINIC, there's more to it, and I was happily surprised.

Set in the waiting room of a clinic for teen issues (i.e. depression, drugs, pregnancy, coming out and more), this is the story of six unrelated youth who don't feel like anyone's listening. In addition to monologues, the cast play out actual scenes in the teens' lives, as well as elements of choreographed movement.

The intention of this show is to eventually perform it in high schools, and I think it'll do well in that venue. All six performers have depth in their characters and don't just crank it to 10 the whole time, which can happen with younger actors. It's refreshing. As well, there are even light moments, which keep this show from being drenched in intensity the whole time.

With also what I would consider a killer soundtrack for a teen audience (from Regina Spektor to Winnipeg's Most), I think this production could do quite well relating to an audience that may one day have to muster up the courage to find their own support.

The Winnipeg Free Press review:

What’s the matter with kids these days? If you can spare an hour, this young Winnipeg company will share. Six teens afflicted with a variety pack of woes perform monologues on sexuality, suicide, drug abuse, pregnancy, mental illness and neglectful parents in this 50-minute drama set in a health clinic waiting room.
Service is slow, so each player has time to perform a monologue or two, and they do it well. Billed as "informative" and "aimed at promoting awareness of social issues," the show is sincere and frank, and I’m guessing it will be a hit in its next venue. The audience was told at a Friday performance proceeds from that performance would help the cast pursue a worthy goal, taking the show to high schools.

— Pat St. Germain

The Uptown review:

From a clinic waiting room comes the stories of a ragtag group of high school misfits, complete with the problems that face many a youth. But these aren’t your everyday adolescent struggles. Sure, you've got the closeted gay, the stoner jock and the pregnant teen — but then you’ve also got the abandoned type A obsessive compulsive, the prostitute and the suicidal beauty queen. Though heavily reliant on the same clichés that made The Breakfast Club such a fabulous teen romp, CLINIC's characters are perhaps a little too real and raw and their monologues take you in their personal hell-rides. These young actors aren't afraid to delve into uncomfortable subject matter and earn your respect on the way.

— Emily Wessel

* * *

We've got a bunch of shows left! Look for our sidewalk chalk art in the Exchange and check our Facebook event page for dates and times! Hope to see you out!

Big Top Fringe Festival: CLINIC

2011-07-14T01:04:00.004-05:00

For the past 9 or 10 months, I've been working on an awareness project, an idea a friend of mine had. The project was a play about issues that teenagers face...teen pregnancy, drugs, homosexuality and mental illness...and take it to high schools. Our goal was to try to get teens to realize they weren't alone and that there are resources available to get help.

And so after a couple months of racking our brains and planning, we decided to throw our name in the hat for Fringe Festival. Our name got pulled and here we are.

It's Fringe Festival time!

Winnipeg set a record for attendance last year, pushing close to 90 000. The Winnipeg Free Press published attendance figures for other Fringes across Canada and wouldn't you know it...we beat the pants off of Toronto and Vancouver. As we were talking about last week on Winnipeg Internet Pundits, we love us some festivals.

CLINIC follows the stories of six teenagers. Each has a problem they would rather not talk about...not to their friends, not to their parents. We've all been in waiting rooms, at the doctors, a hospital, the dentist. A famous Seinfeld moment about waiting rooms puts it perfectly..."I wonder what he's got?"

That's what CLINIC is. What are they thinking? Sitting in a waiting room, with such a heavy burden on a young person's life, it's all they can think about, and they've no idea what to do about it. CLINIC aims to be emotional and relateable to teens with similar problems, hopefully, to inspire them to seek help.

Here is our event page for all the dates and times.

Coming to see the play would be a huge deal to us, as we look forward to the upcoming school year, we see Fringe as a fundraising opportunity, so that we can continue to do this, donate to charitable NGOs and non-profits related to the things we talk about in the play. So please come!

And come to Fringe anyway, or at least drop by the Exchange, it's gonna be a fun time.

Him? Here?! Now?!?! NOOOOO! Tragically Hip at Shaw Park, July 7 2011

2011-07-08T01:02:00.006-05:00

Since I became a Hip fan, I've always been dissapointed with the crowds in Winnipeg. For such an amazing band people sure do like to sit on their hands...but not today. At least not down on the lawn.

Every song pumped the crowd up more and more...until it reached something pretty amazing during New Orleans-Nautical Disaster-New Orleans.

As someone who follows The Hip's every show, the setlists this summer have been very similar, which is probably a first. It could be the outdoor setting, but I'm not complaining, outdoor concerts are awesome and an outdoor Hip concert is even awesomer.

The boys also played 3 brand-new songs. "Transformer" seems to be like it will be a future concert staple.

* * * *

Tragically Hip July 7th 2011 Shaw Park/Goldeyes Stadium

* * * *

Lonely End of the Rink
Grace, Too
Love is a Curse
Streets Ahead
It's a Good Life
In View
Drip Drip Drip
Gift Shop
Poets
Ahead By a Century
Transformer
"Happy Birthday Johnny Fay"
100th Meridian
Fiddler's Green
Fully, Completely
Courage
Bobcaygeon
New Orleans/Nautical Disaster/New Orleans
Little Bones

* * *

Blow at High Dough
Wheat Kings
Music at Work

I hope the Goldeyes don't practice tomorrow. Their dugout is a little dirty. Good God, what happened here?! Yup, there was a Hip show last night.

The Super Grandpa: cycling across Canada in less than 14 days

2011-07-06T03:26:00.004-05:00

A Winnipegger hailing from East Kildonan is trying to break a world record. Cycling across Canada in 13 days and 9 hours.

Arvid Loewen has been grinding it out on the bike as an ultramarathonist for over 15 years. He boasts a resume that boarders on the insane. And he does it all for charity, good causes, for orphanages in third world countries, and for fun. If you're spending this much time in the saddle, there must be something you're enjoying about it.

Arvid Loewen is currently being sponsored by the fine folks from Bikes and Beyond in Elmwood, where he has taken his business for years. One of Arvid's more humourus endeavors involved racing the employees of B&B as they took turns for 24 hours...Arvid vs the store.

Bikes and Beyond has also pledged towards Arvid's cause. If the record is broken, B&B will buy the bike back and mount the world record-breaking machine in the store.

This time it's not just for a good cause, its for the record books too. The current record stands at 13 days, 9 hours. As I sit on the steps of the Legislature typing my draft of this piece, he will roll into Winnipeg about 18h ahead of the calculated average (though this is a bit deceptive...) He's cranking over 500km a day down the Trans Canada Highway.

The charity we're talking about here is Mully Children's Family. Arvid has been cycling in support of MCF for 5 years now, founding the non profit Spoke Impact. In 2005, Arvid cycled across Canada on a tandem bike with an orphanage child, one of three, from MCF with him.

I chatted with Arvid about the orphanage and his humanitarian work using his cycling craziness as a fundraising platform.

For Arvid, the Guinness Record is a secondary goal and a tool to promote his fundraising drive, which he describes as "aggressive." At $400 000 so far, he's putting they money where his mouth, and heart, are. Since 2005, over $1.5 million dollars have been raised for MCF by Arvid, Spoke Impact, and Grandpas Can.

Arvid actually quit his job a few years ago to concentrate full time on Spoke Impact and fundraising for NGOs like MCF. He has visited MCF in Kenya twice now, and remarked on the incredible change between his first and second visits. They now harbour 2000 orphans, they have a giant greenhouse, fish farms, and water dams. More impressively, 7000 kids have "graduated" from the shelter and are equipped with the tools and knowledge to be independent people.

If you can even imagine doing 500km a day on a bike, a cycling ultramarathonist has big mental challenges. For inspiration, Arvid carries a few pictures with him. Of Lilian, a girl from the orphanage, 8 years old weighing 16 pounds, a hauntingly skeletal figure staring hopelessly at nothing while sitting on the ground. On the flip side of Arivd's little photo carrier is Lilian again, healthy, with bright eyes and a beaming smile.

It would be hard not to be inspired by that, knowing that your efforts and work have made such an incredible difference in an impoverished country.

Though the project is still under Spoke Impact, the name for this venture is "Grandpas Can." He says this to show that grandpas can be leaders and can help make the world better. Arvid's grandchildren will sure have something to be proud of. They're even on his custom-made cycling shirts, which look pretty sharp with the Spoke Impact logo, the grandpascan.com website name, and on the back, a group photo of Mully Children's Family.

The good work done by MCF doesn't stop at kids, but it ventures into being stewards of the environment as well. Director Charles Mully's has been planting trees, a lot of trees, to help recover forests that have been destroyed by deforestation or logging. Remember that in Canada, we take these sorts of things for granted. Not everywhere in the world requires logging companies to re-plant forests. There are similar stories of such tree planters throughout the world.

You can follow Arvid Loewen's journey at grandpascan.com. If you want to donate and help the fundraising drive, follow the appropriate links on his site.

His crew is on the Twitter, who have been essentially live-tweeting the journey with a bit of humor, too.

* * * *

A brief career retrospective of some of Arvid Loewen's ultra marathon cycling events. He had a hard time at first as anyone does with long-distance events, but with perseverance and experience, he's become a veteran pro.

* * * *

1995: Furnace Creek 508. A 508 mile trek through Death Valley. Arvid would not finish.

1995: Paris-Brest-Paris 1200. Dropped out.

1998: 24 hour race in Alaska. Dropped out after 480km.

1999: Paris-Brest-Paris 1200. Finished. The event now draws over 3000 riders.

2000: Furnace Creek 509 finished.

2001: Iowa Firecracker 500. Finished, which qualified Arvid for the Race Across America.

2005: Across Canada on a tandem bicycle, carrying a Keynan orphan from MCF.

2008: Race Across America. Arvid would finish 1st in his age category, in 11 days, 3 hours and 19 minutes.

2009: Tour for Life. Arvid began on the same day as the Tour de France, and his goal was to ride triple the distance. For 23 days he rode around Birds Hill Park, Highway 59, North Henderson Highway and the Perimeter. He compiled nearly 8000km and came just short of his goal of tripling the Tour de France.

Has completed the Boston-Montreal-Boston 1200km twice.

Show your support for Arvid, his cause, and MCF, by following his journey via his website, on Twitter, or by making a donation.

Rename the WFP "Business" section "Revitalization"

2011-07-05T04:03:00.002-05:00

The Winnipeg Free Press yesterday again chose to hide another significant downtown story in the Business section. For some reason unbeknownst to the average thinking person.

Just last week, donning the front page of the WFP was the news of a new 20 storey hotel building across from the MTS Centre in the current A&B Sound/Titanic Exhibit building. Given the track record of the FreeP placing these types of stories under "Business," I have no doubt in my mind that this particular news item got special treatment. Why? Well, because it is connected to True North and the return of NHL hockey. Had True North not been involved it wouldn't have been front page. The Winnipeg Sun by contrast, chose to run a picture of two hypothetical Jets tickets on fire with an Ebay/Kijiji asking price of $6500 to the first game against Montreal. Indeed that new hotel was mighty important news.

Remember that it was only a couple of years ago that the overall attitude of media in Winnipeg seemed to be that downtown sucked, that revitalization wasn't happening, that there was no parking anywhere, and rampant crazy panhandlers who would stab you if you didn't give them a nickel populated downtown streets. Editorials bemoaned the slow pace of redevelopment.

But indeed it is happening. Did the media, did Winnipeg, really expect it would happen all at once, did we really expect government-fuelled megaprojects knocking down "blighted" areas would - really - instantaneously spur private investment?

Of course! Remember Disneyland? Coughhack, I mean, Asperland? The new stadium was to transform Point Douglas, remove abandoned warehouses, realign Higgins avenue and rename it, ripping up shitty old streets and painting the Point over with fresh, sterile concrete that no suburban Winnipegger could ever imagine a prostitute standing on. And parking! Tons of parking! Why, you could go Downtown all day and it would just be fantastic.

Asper even said this about his Point Douglas transformation that was nothing short of ridiculous and matched Hugh McFadyen's Point Douglas lakefront idea in stupidity:

"This would be a world-class downtown tourist attraction"

Yeah really, he said that. But it didn't happen, the Point is better off, and while I'm on this subject, FreeP journalist Geoff Kirbyson should aquaint himself with this neighbourhood. If Asperland was in Point Douglas, and Henry Avenue is south of where Asperland would have gone, then how is Henry Avenue the North End? Someone needs to put a map up in that Winnipeg Free Press Cafe. Or at least give journalists free Wifi so they can access Google Maps, unlike us bloggers who have to buy a coffee first. Because by Geoff Kirbyson's definition of the North End, the Main Street WRHA building is also in the North End.

I shouldn't rag on government megaprojects though. As much as the Winnipeg bloggers and urbanists in general do, they have played a role in the last ten years. We've past the tipping point, finally. And it's still Business section news.

Over the past 5 years, especially, we have seen project by project, step by step, building by building, business by business, add to the improvement in our downtown. It's hard to make a section for that. However given the overall negative attitude and snubbery toward revitalization, one could argue the media played a part in slowing progress.

If the media projects an image of downtown and that is the primary influence on people's perception of downtown, then yes, a prospective entrepreneur might not want to venture there. An out-of-town business may choose not to invest in Winnipeg. People will choose to spend their consumer dollars elsewhere. And that is exactly what has happened for at least the lifespan of this website.

We've just passed our Tipping Point, to borrow from Malcolm Gladwell. Or you could say we pushed through The Dip to quote Seth Godin. If you don't get either of those, what I'm saying, is that we ground it out, fighting tooth and nail along the way, and slowly slowly slowly we learned and we tweaked and built momentum until something remarkable happened.

We don't need Asperland to make our downtown WORLD CLASS. I've been saying all along here that we need to make downtown a destination, and that is what is, slowly but surely, happening.

Maybe the next time the WFP chooses to do a colour spread for the Business section on a downtown related project, they can do the entire city a favour and rename the section "Revitalization in Progress" for that day.

Sympathy for you, Mr Weiner

2011-06-16T23:21:00.006-05:00

It's a damn shame that one of the most common-sense and vocal politicians in the US was shown the door, rejected by hypocratic Republicans and even looked down upon by his own party.

This is for you, Jess.

American politics is rife with sex scandals. From politicians paying prostitutes, to secret love children, to Presidents, to my-wife-has-cancer-but-I'm-fucking-someone-else. Surprisingly, few of these people implicated in such scandals resign. Thus when it is Mr Anthony Weiner's turn, he of course, having done nothing illegal, is treated like dirt from both sides of the floor. Rachel Maddow of MSNBC characterizes this as IOKIYAR, or "It's Okay If You're A Republican."

American politics is also dominated by idiots. Such as Newt "they are imposing Sharia law in America" Gingrich, Tim "the Iraq War is a shining example of success" Pawlenty, Christine "I am not a witch" O'Donnell, Sarah "the British are coming" Palin, and even Barack "the Libya war is not a war" Obama. Which is why the world looks upon the US in wonder, at the stupidity of their voters and the unbelievable-ness of their presidential candidates.

So who to turn to for reason in American politics? Only a handful come to mind. The Republicans who oppose gay-marriage or abortion banning (all 2 of them). Barney Frank, who responded a "Obama is a Nazi" woman, "on what planet do you spend most of your time?" in public.

Barney Frank is only out-done by Congressman Anthony Weiner. Here is a tribute to Mr Weiner. With Weiner's resignation, the collective American Politician sane-o-metre has just dropped below zero.

"Who pays those bills?!?!?! The bill fairy?!"

Canadian Museum for Mass Genocide

2011-06-13T18:11:00.004-05:00

Many people have expressed scepticism over assertions that the CMHR will be a "holocaust" museum.

Ho way, Jose, they say. It will be an all encompassing look at human rights and will look at the struggles of people from all over the world and....and...

...and then there's the careers ad that appeared in the Saturday Free Press.

Research Assistant:

The research assistant will provide assistance to the researcher on specific subject areas of international human rights with particular reference to genocide and mass genocide.

Qualifications include a University degree in an area relevant to the subject of international human rights with a particular focus on genocide and other mass atrocities.

Hmmmmmmmm....

Make of that what you will.

Abominably Preposterous

2011-06-12T23:33:00.005-05:00

After just declaring I would only post stuff like this on Friday, I've already broken my publishing schedule. However this was so repulsive it couldn't wait.

A Republican Congressman, Dana Rohrabacher, visited Iraq last Friday as part of a "congressional delegation." He suggested that Iraq eventually pay the US Government back for the cost of their 2003 invasion. More preposterously and the subject of this short post, after a meeting with the Iraqi PM who informed the delegation of an ongoing investigation into the killing of 35 Iranians, Rohrabacher told reporters that the massacre was probably a crime against humanity.

Iraq told them to leave and later that day, the delegation was on their way out of the country.

What does it say about the American view of the war in Iraq, these two statements? That America is always right, that America "saved" Iraq from itself and that the Iraqi people should be forever indebted to them? After eight years of a clusterfucking mess and the deaths of over 100 000 people?

What is more gut wrenching is this statement from the congressman:

"We did say that the massacre of so many civilians was a crime, and we needed to make sure that those responsible for it were held accountable."

That makes me sick.

Wikileaks, through the Afghan War Diaries and the Iraq War Logs, uncovered numerous "crimes against humanity" committed by the US Military. To make the accusation to the Iraqi government of committing a war crime, after 8 years of occupying that country and committing numerous violations of human rights and international law, leaves me speechless.

Perhaps the congressman would like to hold his former boss, George Bush Jr, for the proliferation of Guantanamo Bay and the arrests and torture of innocent people. Or perhaps he would like to explain why the Pentagon covered up the deaths of 15 000 Iraqi civilians as uncovered by Wikileaks. Or perhaps he would like to investigate President Obama for the treatment of Private Bradley Manning. Or perhaps he should think about the legalities and international implications of assassination.

This congressman is holding his head far too piously high.

Friday round-up: RRC VP Rushton, "Mayor" Steeves and #FF

2011-06-10T15:22:00.003-05:00

Here's a mixed bag of sorts for today. Please do comment or email me if you have anything to say about these topics. Particularly the Gord Steeves topic, because I can't find an inkling of truth about it.

First, I think I will start doing only once-per-week "Foreign Fridays" for international-type stuff. I recognize this site and it's content for 5 years have been about Winnipeg. But a lot of my spare time is spent nerdily reading over foreign policy stuff, international law, following the actions of our military and the US's, and events in the Middle East. So for anyone who actually cares or reads that stuff, I will post it on Fridays when my site traffic plummets for the weekend.

Moving on.

Gord Steeves, according to a select couple journalists, is seen by "many" as a future contender for mayor.

Whazza? No, I'm serious. On Twitter yesterday, a journalist told me that Steeves had the support of "many business and community leaders."

I want to debunk this garbage right now. There is absolutely NO talk about Steeves as mayor. Not last fall. Not after the election. The first I heard of anything, was when Policy Frog mentioned it in a joking off-hand way during a special Sunday broadcast of The Great Canadian Talk Show just a few days before the election.

And now, just 9 months after getting elected going to leave, as he is about to announce he will be running for MLA, in a couple stories there is a one-sentence blurb about how he has support for mayor. It makes ZERO sense. Business leaders? Would support Katz (successful businessman turned politician) over Steeves (lawyer turned city councillor)? What? ZERO sense!

Steeves would have lost to Judy-W. Mr "I think we should study the viability of synthetic Ice" Steeves has never been tossed around as a possible mayor candidate. Period.

For journalists who make this claim, or want to put that one-liner about him being a contender in the story? Track down a supporter. Any supporter. Just one. And name them. Get a quote from them. Because otherwise, this is total bullshit that was invented by a blogger on an alternative media talk show and just goes to prove that if you blurt out something marginally possible as a joke, sometime in the future it will come back as "the truth." Mysteriously with a groundswell of support, but none of said supporters to be found or heard from. Ever.

And it's bad journalism. But don't believe my opinion about reporting unsubstantiated rumours as truth, I didn't go to journo-school. Or Red River College for CreComm which brings us to....

Cathy Rushton, the Vice President of Red River College who was mostly responsible for the illegal actions taken against The Great Canadian Talk Show, has been relieved of her duties as Red River College VP. Rushton concocted lies about Mayor Sam Katz, Federal Minister Vic Toews, co-invented an "executive committee" to circumvent the KickFM board of directors, admitted in internal emails obtained by Freedom of Information requests that the reason behind the show's cancellation was indeed censorship, silencing a media outlet (so much for Freedom of the Press, in the Canadian Charter of Rights), interfering and infringing on basic freedoms we take for granted like "Freedom of Speech" and "Freedom of Expression."

Cathy Rushton no longer has her job. Marty Gold has written a short summary of her underhandedness involving TGCTS. Mocking the Winnipeg Police Association! I forgot about that one.

Have a phenomenal friday.

The Last Puck

2011-06-09T16:09:00.004-05:00

I came across this yesterday. I wrote it about two years ago. It is strangely fitting today.

A century of suns fold
over the facades of old
Hiding beauty so long forgot,
remembering a journey
impossible to plot

You're laughing but
Death by Popcorn made us all fans
by the time the curtains closed
We gave a standing-o,
chanting those three words everyone knows

After the last puck dropped
the Wings took off
the Queen came down and
we got a little teary-eyed
every time someone said
it couldn't be done,
they'd never be back and,
maybe Stanley would never be won

When we meet in the street
you'll know why
the heart of this city
will never die

Bloggers, come on down to UMFM studio tomorrow!

2011-06-07T17:08:00.004-05:00

It's Radio Free Winnipeg on Wednesday....for bloggers.

The Winnipeg Internet Pundits radio show from 5-6PM Wednesdays on 101.5 UMFM, with James (Slurpess + Murder/WPG Cat), Walter (One Man Committee) and Chris (WE Dumplings) and Tessa (on Twitter only) are inviting all bloggers/tweeters down to the studio tomorrow.

It is "Open House week" at the radio station. So if you want to come down and be on the air with us, by all means. Come plug your site, meet other local bloggers/writers, and talk about stuff on the airwaves.

The studio is on the 3rd floor of University Centre. Just walk on in and say hi.

Also: WE Dumplings says you should come. And Slurpees and Murder says you should come. Please only bring slurpees though, not murder.

Greg Selinger to the poor: you're not poor, we have the NHL

2011-06-06T13:10:00.006-05:00

Last Thursday during question period at the Leg something happened. Something significant. But it went unreported. I suppose every journalist in this town was busy writing Jets stories upon Jets stories. After all, news is a business and it is indisputably the hottest item in town.

That said I'm not sure one news outlet even sent an intern to the Leg on Thursday.

What happened was nothing short of insulting. A sad and incredible slap in the face to all Manitobans.

It is of no surprise to anybody that this government or any other, would take advantage of the NHL coming back to town, using the opportunity to say "we did it" and add it to their resume for the campaign trail. But Thursday, and I cannot stress this enough, was incredible. There is only so much political credit one can take, and the Premier of Manitoba Greg Selinger crossed the line.

What he said should send a major signal to Manitobans about this government. This post is for all the low income families in Manitoba, and the people of Elmwood, the North End, and the West End. You're all orange now, but think carefully who you're voting for in October.

I'm adding comedic relief to the transcript of Thursday afternoon such that I don't end up throwing my iPad across the room.

* * * * *

Hon. Jon Gerrard (River Heights): Mr. Speaker, wasteful spending is plaguing this NDP government. While a hard-working family of four in Elmwood struggles to make ends meet, the NDP government will be taking roughly $3,000 a year from their pockets in income taxes to pay for things like a $38,000–a barbecue for senior bureaucrats at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. Meanwhile, that family earning the same amount in Saskatchewan would only be paying $725 in income taxes while their government cut wasteful spending and put more dollars into health care.

I ask, Mr. Speaker, to the Premier: Why is he taking so much money from families in places like Elmwood to spate–to spend on their executive bureaucrat friends?

A low income family has to pay 3 grand a year in taxes for rich people?! The same family in Saskatchewan has to pay just $725?!?!?

Oh, say it ain't so, Mr Premier!!

Hon. Greg Selinger (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I thank the member from River Heights for the question.

The government of Saskatchewan, when they do their affordability index for all the provinces in Canada, have ranked Manitoba No. 1 for affordability. We always position ourselves to ensure that families of all types and sizes and income levels remain in the top three.

But this makes no sense, Greg! How can we be number 1 in affordability, but have poor families pay more than 3 times the taxes that those strange people next door pay?

In this budget that the member opposite voted against, we increased the property tax credit for families in Manitoba, the education property tax credit. We increased the property tax credit for seniors to an unprecedented level in this province, the first step of three that we've put in place. We've increased the personal exemption for families inside of Manitoba, and, you know what, Mr. Speaker? We're growing the economy like we've never seen before in this province.

Uh huh...but what about the low income families?

It's grown by over 50 per spent–50 per cent. People have more disposable income. People can afford to buy tickets to support the NHL in Manitoba. The members opposite would not build the MTS Centre. They wouldn't build the Hydro building. They wouldn't build Red River College. They will–won't build water treatment facilities that will protect the water in Manitoba.

...uh huh...wait...WHAT?!

...WHAT?

Poor people are fine because people in Manitoba have disposable income and we can afford NHL tickets! And the MTS Centre!

We will build those things, and we will keep Manitoba families employed, including in Elmwood.

Keep the people of Elmwood employed as what, 50/50 sellers at the arena?

**(snip)**
I've cut one question/answer here, if you want to see it and Greg Selinger say the Conservatives will privatize Hydro, it is in the hansard.
**(end snip)**

Mr. Gerrard: Mr. Speaker, enough is enough. The working poor in Manitoba are sick of being overtaxed when the NDP is just wasting so much of their money, and families in rural Manitoba are sick of being overtaxed when the government doesn't even provide an adequate water management system that works.

When will the Premier apologize for overtaxing Manitobans and wasting the money that's being spent?

Waste, waste, waste! The poor are wasting away by being overtaxed and the Premier gives money away for stadiums and professional sports teams!

Mr. Selinger: Mr. Speaker, we will keep Manitoba families among the affordable in the country. We will make sure Manitoba is one of the most affordable places to live in the country and, at the same time as we keep Manitoba affordable, we will invest in better hospitals,

Brian Sinclair, where are you?

better personal care homes, better schools, better universities. We'll even support the MTS Centre downtown when the members opposite vote against

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH POOR FAMILIES?!

it so that we can now have the NHL back in Manitoba after 15 dark years of them doing everything they can to thwart it.

Hey poor people, we're taxing you a lot and wasting the money, but who cares! WE GOT THE NHL BACK!

They have done everything they can in the last 15 years–[interjection] You know, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate them applauding getting the NHL back

Hey Greg!

THE QUESTION IS ABOUT POVERTY!

by this government in Manitoba when, for the last 15 years, they've done everything they can to stop this province improving, to stop making improvements to quality of life. They've opposed every tax reduction we've done. They've imposed every investment we've made in education, culture, health and in sport in this province.

Investing, he says! We can afford the NHL!

Manitoba is moving forward. It's on a roll. Let's keep it going that way and not let the members opposite into government.

Are we done yet? Can we drop the puck now?

Mr. Speaker: Order. Time for oral questions has expired.

* * *
Done
* * *

What the hell is this?

Poverty! What poverty, we got the NHL back!

This is shameful, it is a slap in the face, and it was unbelievably low to duck a question about low income families and tax policies and shift to professional hockey. Which no low income family could possibly afford and has absolutely nothing to do with the well being of marginalized communities.

That our economy is "strong" also has nothing to do with low income families. It does not affect them and they see little benefits. Just last week an ex-pat claimed Saskatchewan was spanking us. Whatever low blow that might be to our ego, it has nothing to do with the Riders vs Bombers, or the Wheat Kings vs The Pats.

That poor families have to pay more than 3 times what the same family has to pay in Sask, is lost on Premier Greg Selinger, because....we got the NHL back.

And this is the party of the people? These are the people they claim to represent! These are the people who now have to put up with the NDP Government ignoring their problems because they are too busy helping their buddies, paying out for the Asper siblings' projects, and taking credit for something they had nearly no involvement in.

Nobody wrote about this? Nobody can say they truly expected the government to embarrass themselves to this level. Taking credit is one thing...shaking off criticism of low income tax policies by cheering the NHL?

Insulting.

Senate Page protest = sore loser

2011-06-05T18:29:00.004-05:00

The 21 year old Senate Page who is now famous for pulling a protest stunt during the throne speech for the 41st Parliament sessions has now a popular Facebook Like page and has gotten the attention of Michael Moore, who has been pumping out support-the-protestor messages on Twitter.

The left-leaning pro-socialist NDP-voting "young voters" have been on my nerves since the beginning of the election campaign. Some people are calling this girl brave, courageous, defiant, and I believe read somewhere that she had an oh-so-bright future and was being "mentored" by a senator. The bravery and such I suppose is true, it would take a hell of a lot to muster up doing that. But it is astounding to me how many people support the actions of this person.

You. Lost. The. Election. Get. Over. It.

Harper is not an evil man who will destroy our country. What kind of evil nation-destroying and democratically-elected man would write a book about hockey? Anyhow...

Oh yes, I know, you think our system is "broken." You say he shouldn't be Prime Minister because a majority of the country did not vote for him. All that sort of whining does is prove your inability to understand democracy and how it works in reality. You lost in 2006. You lost again in 2008. And then you lost big time on May 2nd of this year. Canadians put the Liberal party into disgrace and Quebec chose the NDP as the new Bloc.

Either the "stand up to Harper" message is complete bullshit, or the rest of us stupid people just don't see the light that you do. Continuing this silly ruse is as though if you keep yelling it louder and louder, and just a little bit louder, we'll all finally understand that the gibberish coming out of your mouth. It reminds me of a scene in one of my favorite movies, "Catch Me If You Can," where Tom Hanks is trying to communicate with some French police officers in Mount Richard.

"My name is Carl Handratty,"

"CARL. HANDRATTY."

"CAAARL. HAND. RATT. Y"

"...FBI!!"

Ah, we understand FBI!

What I really don't understand is what this is supposed to accomplish. She got some media attention for a little bit. There is now an image from early 21st century Canadian politics that will enter the history books. But by and large the country thinks you're an idiot, I know this not from any empirical data, but the simple fact that Canada has voted to put Stephen Harper in the hotseat 3 times in 5 years. Maybe you're brave but this accomplished nothing...it is nothing new, nothing impactful. The message is just getting louder by the same vociferous anti-Steveies.

This isn't Greenpeace. This isn't PETA. Not an anti-war protestor, not someone even waving a "FREE MARC EMERY" sign. All things I can respect, all reasons to protest, to send your message and beliefs to people. All legitimate activist or lobbying groups.

But this? This is someone who isn't happy with the results of the election, who was willing to sacrifice her non-partisan job to tell the whole country she didn't vote for Stephen Harper and she thinks the 5.8 million people who did are wrong. Good for you.

I think all the people in Kildonan-St Paul who didn't vote for Joy Smith are wrong. If you're a champion of human rights and equality and social justice and all that jazz and you didn't vote for Joy Smith in K-SP, you're even wronger. Am I going to make a sign and get my picture in national media telling everyone about it just a month after a Federal Election? Hell no.

Ms Senate Page-rebel, get in line behind the anti-NHL people. Maybe if you start chatting you'll find you've something in common.

Anti NHL-ers, shut your pie holes, and no you can't have cake too

2011-06-04T13:56:00.003-05:00

It's a great day to gloat.

To all the people who, even up to yesterday, would argue that the NHL can't work in Winnipeg and that nobody here has money and we can't support them and it doesn't make economic sense and the player salaries are too high for Winnipeg and we're too small and bla bla bla bla blablabla...

There were 50 000 Winnipeggers at U2, many paying hundreds of dollars to attend. Over 11 000 have already purchased season tickets to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a team that has sucked balls for years. Many people here own TWO houses, one in the city and a weekends-only house at a remote lake that takes hours to drive to. There is a never-ending lineup to pay 7+ dollars for fucking poutine. This summer tens of thousands will flock to Folk Fest for a weekend and the week after that, tens of thousands more will flock downtown for Fringe Fest to see plays at ten bucks a pop.

We are hungry and desperate to spend our money. Concert sellouts and high priced entertainment is only evidence of one thing: we are hungry and desperate to spend our money on entertainment.

If you don't like my tone, you can participate in the "17 word challenge." Because we sold out our season ticket drive in 17 minutes, you have 17 words to tell me why I'm wrong.

The only other rule is that it has to be a sentence with a supporting argument. ie, my favourite commenter Jason telling me that I suck does not count. And yes I will be deleting such comments.

Good luck.

Open Letter to Wikileaks, Julian Assange

2011-06-02T19:17:00.002-05:00

Open Letter to Wilikeaks, Julian Assange;

I offer to volunteer myself in any way that may be of use to your organization.

For several months I have been unable to find employment. Reasons for being turned down are often all too obvious for me. I am questioned for my lack of university education/bachelors degree, my lack of experience pouring coffee, over-qualification for pumping gas and, even a Myers Briggs test score, as irrelevant and believable as that may be.

I am a news junkie. A foreign policy nerd. Few people I know can out-research me. I can learn, understand and communicate concepts quickly. I am an excellent writer. A voracious consumer of information.

I have kept this website for some 5 years now. I was a volunteer contributor to a popular local talk show, which has since been shut down. It turns out certain people dislike the truth and do not hesitate to suppress freedoms of speech, even in Winnipeg, Canada. I am now embroiled in the fight here to support freedom of speech, human rights, and expose the hard truths about the journalists and a post-secondary institution president and vice president that attempted to silence us.

Mere blocks away from the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

No doubt my accomplishments and activities here over the past couple of years have made some sort of impact. Yet these, and my skills, are apparently not in demand or wanted. I was quite entertained by the put-down piece the journalist from the Independent wrote following his interview with Wikileaks. As if everything was some kind of joke.

This attitude is something I encounter almost daily. Whether it is my involvement in politics locally, or arguments with friends over the realities of lack of justice that is served up around the world daily. People I find by and large, have adopted utopian views on how they think the world works. My goal is always to educate, suggest reading, or at least attempt to get a wheel of thought process turning in their head. Perhaps things are not as they seem.

I may not have coding skills. I might not be a "hacktivist"....god I detest that term, or a "real" journalist lucky enough to get as but an internship at a nearby local gatekeeper newsroom. All I do know I have is willpower and courage to stand up. I know I am an intelligent person who wants nothing more than to hopefully create positive change in the world. I know I am an incredibly valuable person to anyone who does not prejudge.

If Wikileaks needs volunteers to sift through information, to organize, to redact names, I'll fucking do it. I will use what money I have saved to fly to wherever. I've no demands for money.

I'm sick of being judged because I don't buy in, because I don't have this or that, and I'm frustrated I am not able to contribute in any sort of relevant way. I might have some projects going, but they are small, and I am but one man.

20 minutes of my time today is better served writing this "job application." And perhaps the rest of my time spent searching for employment, is better served learning Pashto.

Thank you for listening. Without the internet we would not be able to hold governments to meaningful account and without the internet, I would not have the means to reach out to offer to help in any way I can.

Graham in Canada

Say "BOOM" 240 times

2011-05-27T01:38:00.005-05:00

We have dropped 240 bombs on Libya.

In a little over 60 days? 4 bombs a day?

For what?

Photo from Der Spiegel

For a supposed civil war massacre?

Bombs do not detonate only on the bad guys. Bombs can not tell who is good and who is bad. Bombs cannot tell men from women or children. Bombs are indiscriminate, lethal to the absolute.

The bottom line in Libya is that it is an international publicity stunt. A desperate grab by the West to latch onto the bandwagon success of protests in Tunisia, Egypt. The West wanted to be a part of it but they couldn't. There was no control or assist led by "our" side, over here, "the West." So they banded together like heroes, to swoop in and "save" the Libyan people from certain annhilation and promote our way of life, assisted by us, dictated by us.

But only Libya.

Nowhere else are Canadian or NATO troops providing aid or peace keeping support. I thought that's what we were. Peacekeepers. Not war mongerers. Not bomb-droppers. Not force-democracy-down-yer-throat-ers.

The idea that NATO is "only enforcing a no-fly-zone" and "removing anti-aircraft" facilities is clearly bullshit to the T, after Gadhafi's relatives were bombed and killed. Gadhafi himslef? May now be on the run, trying to dodge those air-to-ground attacks that aren't targeted at him, oh no, we're just preventing a civil war, removing Gadhafi is not our goal.

Canada is fully engaged in our second war. We are not mere peacekeepers in Libya, we are bomb-droppers, we are destroyers. We are part of the machine that has no end game, no strategy, and no direction, other than to keep bombing the shit out of a country we don't care about, until sometime, that fantasy time, when Gadhafi magically steps down, and at that time, he will step down, because we, and other NATO countries, have bombed Libya to shit, to the point where there's nothing left, and Gadhafi doesn't give a shit about a pile of burning rubble and crying women.

On the side of preventable atrocities?

40 people were killed in Yemen today as they protested for transparency and democratic values, an end to Ali Abdullah Saleh's 31-year old dictatorship rule.

These protests in the Middle East, despite them being out of constant converage that Egypt was privy to, are continuing. In the tens of thousands. Every day. Yemen in particular, is fighting tooth and nail for their right to choose a government.

But we're too busy dropping bombs in Libya with the USA to notice a people are in genuine need of help.

I for one, do not believe our foreign policy should be "do what those guys are doing." We need to get the fuck out of Libya ASAP and resume our normal post as NATO peacekeepers, committed to assisting, not scorching earth.

The amazing week that was: picture post

2011-05-22T17:12:00.010-05:00

Ah, the May Long weekend. Somehow strange and interesting things seem to manifest themselves around this holiday. This past week was something else. Phenomenal weather, the Winnipeg Jets and the end of the world all happened in one week.

A small crowd watches the spraypaint'in man as the sun sets. Do YOU have a spraypaintin man original?

A full moon hangs ominously over St Boniface Hospital...

Amazing weather continued through the week. These guys decided to have their first band practice of the month...at a busking station. Drew a few entertained onlookers and some toddlers that turned the cobblestones into a dance floor. Yeehaw!

This summer we'll have taco trucks and poutineries. Don't forget to stop into your local locally owned restaurant that has way more awesome food than the corporate franchised chain down the road. This is Zesto's on Henderson in East Kildonan. Features a colourful menu, subs and wraps, smoothies, and a great dine-in space.

YEAH! PARTY! This picture is from the Winnipeg Sun. I chose it because I'm in it but I'm not telling you where. This photo is from around 10pm, judging from the fact that we hadn't yet left the pedestrian barrier to stand in the middle of the intersection.

I've got a couple videos, a list of chants, and a response to CJOB host Greg Glatz all right here.

An hour before rapture, and all through the house, only one creature was stirring, and it wasn't a mouse. It was Aquabooks owner Kelly Hughes, contemplating the viability of his business as the price of books during the Rapture fell to a dismal $0.33 each.

Apparently nobody wants to read books when the end of the world is nigh. But Kelly assured me that next year, when we go through this all again because of the end of the Mayan calendar, that all books will be only $0.10 each.

How else did you think this week would end? A rainy weekend. A deserted Kildonan Park.

Ooooooooooh yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah!

The Uncontested #1 Jets fan and a lame-ass Atlanta Thrashers "rally"

2011-05-21T15:49:00.003-05:00

This is what a "save the Thrashers" rally looks like:

Aww...look at that, they're burning their little placard. They REALLY want that team to stay there eh! Look at all the maybe 200 people who showed up to an obviously planned rally on a Saturday afternoon!!

Atlanta needs to step it up a notch or fifty if they want to even come close to matching Winnipeg's impromptu, unplanned party at Portage and Main on a Thursday night at 10pm based on a kind-of-substantiated rumour that we were getting our team back.

And with that, I give you, our number one fan.

This guy....was there hero of Thursday night. What phenomenal public speaking skills! Take that, Greg Selinger!

Edit: Just found this, a faaaaan-tastic video by the Winnipeg Free Press TV folks. PROPS! What a great video!

Spouting anti-NHL arguments c.1996 in 2011: "We can't afford it"

2011-05-20T17:32:00.003-05:00

Today CJOB host Greg Glatz made a blog post about the return of the NHL that I had not heard for a long time: That Winnipegger's couldn't afford/support a team because we are known for being cheapskates.

"Winnipeggers are cheap. In this town, people cross the street to save a dollar. They don't line up to pay big bucks for premium product."

This is an antiquated argument that lived and died in the 90s. To keep whining like this is to ignore realities of 21st century Winnipeg. I'm hoping Greg Glatz doesn't actually believe this and was just trying to make for some interesting radio.

Because it simply isn't true.

I guess Greg hasn't seen the lineup at the Apple store for "premium products" like the iPhone 4 or the iPad.

But it made me think, wait a second, concert tickets and event tickets have skyrocketed in the last 15 years. Concert tickets are often the same price across the board, across the whole nation, and have essentially conditioned Winnipeggers to higher prices as the norm. We are now used to paying a hundred bucks for a concert, we're used to $8 jumbo beers at Bomber games or Moose games.

So I looked it up. What's hitting up the MTS Centre this year? A quick glance at Ticketmaster before I crunch some numbers.

Kid Rock: $40 to $83
Tragically Hip (Goldeyes park) $60 - $103
Britney Spears: $41 - $372 (I'm not making that up)
Bodies/Titanic: about $22
Rihanna/Cee Lo: $29 - $114
Gordon Lightfoot: $85
Josh Groban: $62 - $114
Keith Urban: $27 - $98
Kenny Chesney: $57 - $87

This is normal. A hundred bucks to see your favourite act. And Winnipeggers obviously support it, we've made the MTS Centre one of the busiest in the globe apparently, and we keep it jam-packed with big-name acts who charge a LOT of money! As much as it pains me to put names like Britney Spears and Rihanna besides the likes of The Tragically Hip and Gordon Lightfoot, they charge a fortune to see a staged, auto-tuned and choreographed act.

Michael Jackson Cirque du Soleil: $138 - $190

Crickey! It'll be a $200 night to see a circus performance to a dead man's music. And you just KNOW it will be sold out.

Cirque du Soleil: $87 - $107 for EIGHT shows in FIVE days.

Nobody would book an act for eight shows at a hundred bucks a pop if it wouldn't draw crowds. Circue DOES draw crowds. What does all this mean? Where do all these people come from, people obviously aren't going to one show a year and being cheap about it. What does it all add up to? Something very simple.

Winnipeggers have money. And they are willing to spend it.

The average NHL ticket price in 2010 according to Reuters is $54.25.

You can't possibly tell me that that isn't reasonable. Moreover, NHL ticket prices are not the same across the board. Tickets in Montreal are way more expensive than tickets in Nashville. So there is some room for price maneuvering within True North's powers. But $60 bucks to get into the building, is completely and totally reasonable.

Hell, I paid that to get into the 300s during the Calder Cup final when the Moose came within one game of the championship. And jeez, if you were in that building, you'd think The Manitoba Moose were about to win the STANLEY Cup.

Greg states this as well, in his blog post:

"We need to EARN a NHL franchise.

...we're a very average city with a chip on our shoulder ... and we've got the team we deserve."

How have we not earned it? Attendance at Moose games...that is, AHL games...often beats attendance of teams like Phoenix or Atlanta. Cities with populations 6, 7 times that of our little, humble 'Peg.

We have proven it by drawing more to sub-prime professional hockey and getting excited about Calder Cup playoffs. We're so desperate, we'll take what we can get. And if what we can get means the likes of Mike Keane, Michael Grabner and Alex Auld then, well, that's who we'll pay to see. If it means that we get crappy NHL exhibition games, guess what, we'll pay to go see those too. We'll even go pay to prop up our CFL football team which has been shitty for years.

The idea that we can't afford a team anymore or that Winnipeggers won't pony up the cash is dead. It died at the hands of our own wallets.

Prices get inflated by the anti-NHL crowd. They make it seem like you have to pay $1000 a year or some silly thing like this for just a couple of games, which simply is not true. They make it seem like EVERYbody in Winnipeg has to go to EVERY game in order to support the team financially, which also is simply not true.

If 700 000 people live in Winnipeg, and the MTS Centre seats 15, 015, and there are 40 home games per year then:

1. A total of 600 600 seats will be sold each year.

2. Every Winnipegger only has to go to 1.165 games per year to sell out every single game.

I'm pretty sure I can go one game a year. Or two. The real number is less than 1 game per year, if you were to subtract season ticket holders from the 15 015 seats the MTS Centre has. Gary Lawless on TSN's That's Hockey today stated that he wouldn't be surprised if "numbers of season tickets were north of ten thousand," which would leave only a few thousand tickets up for grabs.

But in all likelihood I'll go to several games. I'm a Detroit fan, so I want to go see Datsyuk and Zetterberg and Darren Helm. I've been a closet New York Rangers fan for years, so I'd probably go see them too. I love Tim Thomas, I'd go to a Boston game just to see him. And there...there are my several games that I would go to see.

Seven games, assuming the average price I pay for those seven is the same as the NHL average, would cost me less than $400.

That, my fellow 'Peggers and hockey fans, is completely reasonable. Completely affordable. And if it isn't enough to put this silly fear that we can't afford it to rest, then I just don't know what it would take to kill it for good.

My post from last night, a list of chants from us crazy people at Portage and Main.

Vote for your favourite Thursday night Portage and Main Jets mob chant

2011-05-20T01:57:00.005-05:00

Tonight may have been one of the most unreal experiences of my life. I joined the small but vociferous crowd at Portage and Main once the wind that we are getting our team back got around.

There's so many videos and pictures of all kinds of things. A guy brought two seats from the Old Barn down. Someone streaked across the intersection before the mob of us moved into the intersection. Eventually we had northbound Main Street closed off to traffic and a game of street hockey with crushed-beer-can-pucks broke out.

But there were so many memorable chants. I'll leave it to you to vote for/comment on what you think is the best one.

In no particular order:

1. Go-Jets-Go! Go-Jets-Go!

2. We-want-the-cup! We-want-the-cup!

3. We-want-Teemu! We-want-Teemu!

4. Oi-lers-suck! Oi-lers-suck!

5. BC-sucks! BC-sucks!

6. Bryyyyz-ga-loooov! Bryyyyz-ga-lov!

7. We-want-Byfuglien! We-want-Byfuglien!

8. Ole-ole-ole-ole!

9. Take-the-street! Take-the-street! (followed after a short time by about 200 people getting off of the pedestrian barriers and standing in the middle of Portage and Main)

10. Join-the-club! Join-the-club! (people in middle of Portage and Main trying to appeal to the people too shy to come off the pedestrian barriers)

11. Dan-cin-Gabe! Dan-cin-Gabe! (...he wasn't there, much to the crowd's chagrin)

12. Nei-l-Young! Nei-l-Young! (I have no clue what prompted this)

13. Da-rren-Ford! Da-rren-Ford!

14. Call-in-sick! Call-in-sick!

15. Drop-the-puck! Drop-the-puck!

16. White-out! White-out! White-out!

If I remember any more, I'll add them.

Also, props to Hustler and Lawless and the Illegal Curve guys for probably the most ecstatic Winnipeg hockey talk-radio show (cue Howard Mandshein voice) - EVER.

Wait, you forgot to add this to the list of leadership achievements...

2011-05-17T12:40:00.004-05:00

It appears Margo Goodhand will receive a "distinguished alumni" award from the U of Winnipeg.

At the bottom of this piece, Nick Martin of course forgot Goodhand's biggest and most noble journalism achievement to date: her role in suppressing free speech and freedom of expression by other media outlets right here in Winnipeg, effectively cementing her role as master gatekeeper.

But don't go criticizing the gatekeeper for the quality of her work, now that's just mean.

CPR rebranding in 21st century: "CentrePort"

2011-05-10T15:05:00.003-05:00

Congratulations to all people involved with CentrePort as they have officially figured out how to get Manitoba agriculture products to China.

Using nothing but state-of-the-art technologies and leading-edge logistics methods, CentrePort officials should be patted on the back for their ingenious solution to use the Canadian Pacific Railway to ship Manitoban soybeans, green peas, and canola to BC., which will then be shipped to China.

"The concept calls for locally grown soybeans, green peas and canola meal to be loaded into containers, taken by rail to B.C. ports and shipped to China, specifically to an inland port in the city of Chongqing."

Though the CPR was completed in 1885, and the first train to Vancouver arrived in 1887, only now with the incredible guile of CentrePort, has it been possible to ship Manitoban crops to BC for export.

Sir John A MacDonald and The Honourable Alexander Mackenzie could not be reached for comment.

Just me and a tree

2011-05-08T23:17:00.007-05:00

**This post is an entry to a contest held by the United Nations Environment Programme. They will be sending one blogger to India for a week in June to cover World Environment Day**

**If you like my entry, please comment! Also re-tweet the link to this post if you're on the Twitter!

We're on a peak, on top of the world. Below us is a Garden of Eden, epic and wide, a world unto us, ebbing and flowing and wild. The vast expanse of the forest is breathtaking and beautiful. Landscapes emerge in the canopy, a green sea of little rivulets and plateaus and valleys.

There's so many trees, as far as the eye can see. Think of all the things we can make, houses, doors, frames, and hardwood floors. No-one will notice, what could they possibly say, if we took just a few of these trees away?

So we started axing and cutting, slashing and burning. Logjams filled the rivers and greenbacks kept our saw mills hungry. We've done a hundred townships already. What harm would be done if we just did a hundred more? What could anyone possibly say, if we just took a few more of these trees away?

Keep going keep going, is that the ocean I'm hearing? I swear that's the sound of waves crashing ashore, but keep going, another township, let's do a thousand more. All of a sudden the green sea parted, and there was the shore, and an endless blue ocean like I'd never seen before. Behind us was nothing, and all that nothing was frightening to the core.

The scorched earth beneath my feet lit a fire glowing white-hot with anger in my heart.
What have I done?
What have we done?
We ruined it all, for our daughters and our sons.
There was one bird left, circling overhead. "Flee on the wings of the wind, leave these feelings behind," the last bird said. "Lead us forward by quelling the squall that lead us here, before nonsense is the only sense leading us blindly into a wasteland of nowhere."

"Without the trees, the wind will barely register a breeze. So travel along and sing a song, don't turn into a Silent Spring. Your enlightening notes will transmit a message of hope to everyone who hasn't come down from the top of the world, hand them that rope."

My grandfather used to say "you can't see the forest for the trees," and now I finally know what it means. There's only one left, one tree left in front of me. And if it falls, no-one will be around to hear. Because there is nothing here.

Just me and a tree. And that's nothing to see.

That's nothing to see.

*Links*

UN World Environment Day blog site right here.
They're in partnership with treehugger.com.

They both have Facebook pages, UNDEP, and Treehugger.

If you're re-tweeting this post into the Twitterverse, use hashtag #WED2011 and @UNEPandYou and @Treehugger.

Lastly, a couple references within my post that may be obscure, one, the land area unit known as a township, and Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring.

Related: This just in as of May 9th, rare video of Sumatran Tigers in Indonesian forest slated for logging. Only 400 of these Tigers remain in the wild today.

Proportionally fair: Debunking electoral reform bunk

2011-05-06T14:55:00.003-05:00

As you can probably tell by my headline, I am not in favour of electoral reform in Canada. Or at the very least, it makes me uncomfortable when people tout statistics like "60% of people didn't vote for Harper!" Statements like that one make my blogger-red-flags go up.

Hopefully with this post (essay) I can convince you that no, our system is not broken or in need of reform. It works the way it was intended to and it works very well, and the election on May 2nd 2011 proves it.

I don't shy away from math, and I can recognize bad math and bad statistical analysis from a mile away. Being a numbers-inclined person and studying sciences for a number of years tends to do that to you. Without looking anything up, this magical "60%" number makes me think three things: 1) 40% did vote for Harper, 2) the 60% is divided into 4 other parties so lumping them all in one is circumspect and 3) this seems to be based on a fantasy that you need more than 50% to "win."

I need to preface the next bit of this post with an observation about pro-reform people. This is all anecdotal and I have no evidence to support my speculations. Almost all electoral reform people are lefties. They vote NDP, Green, or Liberal. The loudest cheerleaders are the people asking you to join "Anyone but Harper!" Facebook Groups and spam up your social media inboxes asking you to sign various petitions saying that you think because the Conservatives only got 39.6 percent of the vote, the system is "broken" and "unfair."

These folks also seem to have a massive hate-on for Stephen Harper (see "Anyone but Harper!" groups). He's an evil man, they tell you. He has a secret agenda, and if he gets a majority Canada will be ruined. Worst of all, he hates the arts and you should fear 24/7 for your baby's safety. You should be shaking in your little space boots at the mere thought of Stephen Harper getting a 4 year majority. I'm shaking in mine, but only because the mere thought of 4 years of Francis Russell columns is like a bad nightmare coming true.

Dippers and Greenies of course have been wanting "electoral reform" for awhile now. NDP and Green parties have been fringe parties for their entire existences. Electoral reform or proportional representation benefits these fringe parties the most.

In 2008, the NDP got 37 seats but 18.2% of the vote. But 18% of the House of Commons is 56 seats, not 37. The Green Party by contrast, did not win a single seat in the 2008 election but got 6.9% of the vote. I don't need to tell you that there is a big, big difference between zero seats and 6.9% of the House which equates to 21 seats.

Conversely, this works against the big parties. In 2008, instead of Harper's 143 seat minority, he would have had just a 116 seat minority by virtue of his 37.7% of the popular vote.

Seems like a cause to whine about unfairness to me. Especially, if you really don't like Stephen Harper and you voted for one of these lesser parties. You want to give more power to "your guys" and are trying to build a sound argument for doing just that.

Now I know what you're thinking, but Graham it isn't just about proportional representation, actually, "electoral reform" might not even mean this is how we move forward. And I say, true that.

During the first couple days of the 2011 campaign, on March 30th, Liberal Party leader Michael Ignatieff was in Winnipeg for a town hall meeting. He fielded questions on the fly from the audience about Liberal policies and the general concerns of people who spoke up. One question was about electoral reform, and the person asked if the Liberals would pursue this. In my opinion, the young lady asking the question was obviously a pro-reformer and Ignatieff naturally wanted to answer without committing to anything.

But what Ignatieff said about the issue was completely true. His answer was that (paraphrasing) before we do anything on the subject, we first have to ask ourselves, what are we talking about here, exactly? What is it that we want to solve? Questions such as what is it about or electoral system we don't like? The basic premise here is simple and I am in total agreement with it; we can't just say we want electoral reform because of a perception that the current system is unfair.

With that in mind, let's revisit the "60% of people voted against Harper" statement. This is, on the surface, a true statement. There are many things you can do with this number and many different ways you can spin it. So let's do just that.

If 60.4% of people in the 2011 Election voted against Stephen Harper, it is also true that...

69.4% of Canadians voted against the NDP.
81.8% of Canadians voted against the Liberals.
96.1% of Canadians voted against the Greens.

This might make it incredibly hard to ask questions about electoral reform or whether or not our electoral system is fair. It would seem that if you apply the same line of thought to the other parties, a very large majority of people really, really, really don't want anybody to govern.

So what does all this mean? Well, when you look at popular vote percentages, essentially what we are looking at here is what proportion of the country wanted which party to govern. Then, are these compiled percentages of who voted for or against so and so even worth the referendum ballots election reformists want? This is why I said at the beginning of this essay that the "60%" number makes me uncomfortable. 60% of people didn't really vote against one specific party. If you are using this 60% logic then it obviously falls flat that when someone votes, they are not necessarily voting against one party, they may be voting against two or three parties. There is no way to tell, and it is unfair to lump sum everyone on one side, just to further your argument.

Vote splitting works.

If you don't like it...perhaps everyone and their dog on the left shouldn't have their own party. The left, in Canada, is almost like some form of quad-partisanship, and none of them want to help the other three. Jack doesn't want to work with Iggy, and Iggy doesn't want to work with Jack. Neither of them want to work with Gilles. And all 3 of those people see themselves as the one and only official alternative to the Conservatives.

* * * *

For this section some personal background might help set things up. I've had a lot of voting experience for someone who has only been able to vote for 7 years, completely attributed to our minority government. Three Federal elections, one Provincial and two Civic elections. I've voted NDP, Green, Liberal, and Conservative. I'm hardly biased or partisan in any way. I hold no cards for any party affiliation. I have also worked/volunteered on several election campaigns, and the only party platform I haven't worked on in that regard is the NDP.

Aside from vague memories of my mother bringing my brother and I to voting stations, the first real exposure to politics I had was in junior high during social studies. I distinctly remember doing a project in Grade 8 in which I watched the federal debate (there was one going on at the time) and organized my thoughts on each leader's performance. In retrospect, I'm sure the teacher got a kick out of reading a 14 year old's opinions on political leaders.

I'm 25. I'm single and looking for women who have read up to this point of my post and are still interested in the subject matter...Okay. Enough with that. My institutional memory of elections and political happenings is pretty limited. Often I pick you "old people's" brains for insightful perspectives on events I didn't witness. But otherwise there is the internet, and a wonderfully accurate record of elections past.

One of any analyst's many tools is history. Political topics in general are very easy to find historical information on. Elections even more so, because elections define us, and the entire history of our country since Confederation.

I think to myself, if electoral reformists want to think that Stephen Harper is somehow undeserving of his majority government, what about past majorities? Especially past majorities with popular leaders...leaders I am not familiar with other than knowing they were popular. Jean Chretien was popular, yes? Was he "as deserving" of his majorities in the 90s as Stephen Harper is today? I'll frame this using their language:

2000: 59.2% of people voted against the Chretien government.
1997: 61.5% of people voted against the Chretien government.
1993: 58.7% of people voted against the Chretien government.

(Note: That Chretien sure was an unpopular man to be voted a majority 3 consecutive times! Let's keep going...)

1988: 57% of people voted against the Mulroney government
1984: 50% of people voted against the Mulroney government.
1980: 55.7% of people voted against the Trudeau government.

History tells us that the majority governments in the past have a pretty decent chance of getting around or close to 60% "rejection" by Canadians. I'm willing to bet that most people calling for electoral reform today wouldn't be nearly as vocal as they are if say, Ignatieff won a 167 seat majority with 39.6% of the popular vote.

In the last 100 years, there have been 30 elections, and only in 7 of those have there been majority governments that won with 50.0% of the popular vote or more.

Does this mean our electoral system is broken?

Hardly. The idea of Parliament and a House of Commons is a very locally-based one. To make up a Federal Government, each community of people selects one person to represent their interests. Every community (riding) has it's own set of problems and issues. An inner city riding obviously has different priorities than a rural farming riding, or a northern riding. An Eastern riding in BC has different pressures affecting it's local politics than a Maritime riding.

This is an important aspect of our electoral system. Local politics would be done away with or certainly marginalized to a large extent, in the different ideas people supporting electoral reform bounce around. Currently, a community has the ability to decide if an incumbent is doing a good job representing his or her people, by voting them back in or voting them out.

National election discourse does not usually focus on the super-local level. Some races are run on local issues, and only a small number of voters really examine their candidates. Fewer still criticize their elected representative's record in government, by following parliamentary or legislative debates, or by researching a politician's voting record. A large part of any federal candidate's success depends on the national tide of public opinion. This is perhaps best shown in the close race between Kevin Lamoreaux and Rebecca Blaikie.

Three things happened nationally this week: the Conservatives held an advantage because many people are in favour of a stable government, the NDP enjoyed a strong leadership presence, and the Liberals were the recipients of nation-wide rejection. Did all of these things happen in the Winnipeg North race? Absolutely, yes.

1) Almost 10 000 additional votes were cast in the 2011 election as compared to the November by-election, but Kevin Lamoureaux only increased his vote by about 1700. Of the 10 000 additional votes that were cast, 8300 people chose not to vote for the Liberal Party.

2) The NDP vote increased by about 2600. A marginal increase, considering the so-called NDP surge (which was really only in Quebec).

3) The Conservative candidate collected over 5000 votes more than last November. People really really don't like the Liberal Party right now.

So what did it come down to for Kevin Lamoureaux? It came down to local issues and vote splitting. If the Green Party didn't exist, Rebecca Blaikie may have won. But locally, Lamoureaux's presence and recognition for his work in the community is so strong, that he was able to hold onto his seat despite the unpopularity of the Liberal Party and Michael Ignatieff. That recognition is so strong that it is why he was able to wrestle the longtime NDP seat away in last November's by-election.

This kind of community support isn't often that strong, and you cannot fault people for not paying attention to politics, or for not knowing what each of their elected politicians at each level of government is doing. If anything, the onus is on you, to get your neighbours and friends involved in the process, and being more vocal as a citizen in your riding. Blaming the system and calling for "reform" because of the perception that your vote did not count, because your guy/gal didn't win, or because the person who you want to lead the country is not, is kind of silly. Blaming the practice of democracy in Canada because you lost is quite the oxymoron.

Moving away from a locally-based system means either proportional representation (which raises the question: who gets to choose who represents who locally? Or, who gets to dictate who gets to represent who? Not the voters) or a preference system which means each voter numbers in preference who they would like to represent them.

The preferential voting system actually existed here in Manitoba. Provincially, between 1920 and 1955 (Thanks, Sam!). The "riding" of Winnipeg was awarded 10 seats, chosen by the citizens of the "riding" in preferential order. During my research on this I discovered a politician by the name of Lewis St George Stubbs whose Wikipedia states:

"[Stubbs] served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1936 to 1949 as an Independent, and was known for promoting left-wing and socially progressive causes."

Ah! A lefty. But most interestingly, his article also states:

"Stubbs made frequent calls for electoral reform in Manitoba, noting that the riding's urban centres were grossly under-represented in comparison to the rural areas."

A lefty clamouring for electoral reform...before 1950. Except it was the opposite of what people are saying now. His reasoning if we are to believe his Wikipedia page, is that communities do not have direct control over who represents a specific neighbourhood. This is an important aspect of our politics today not only Federally but Provincially and at the Municipal level as well.

If the system is broken Federally, then it would follow that it is also broken Provincially and Municipally. However only at the Provincial and more so the Municipal level do we recognize the value of a community electing the person whom they want to represent them.

Electoral reform won't change voter turnout either. You can't force anybody to pay attention to politics any more than you can force someone to read a newspaper. Electoral reform won't change activities in the House of Commons and it won't change party policy. All it would change, is how you cast your vote, and how much value you perceive your vote to have.

Many who do not vote claim that they don't see how it matters...but clearly this election showed that it does in fact matter. The close races right here in Manitoba could have been won by other people had just a couple hundred more people showed up to vote, out of the thousands in each riding that did not.

If Stephen Harper and a majority Conservative government was really as hated and unpopular as pro-electoral reformists would lead me to believe, he wouldn't have won as many seats as he did, simple as that. There are three seats here right in Manitoba, Joyce Batemen in Winnipeg South Centre, and Lawrence Toet in Elmwood-Transcona, two seats that could easily have gone to a Liberal and NDP candidate respectively. But that anti-Harper vote just did not materialize. Plain and simple.

* * * *

What did materialize? A very interesting trend, which in my eyes, validates the current government in their majority rule. The trend I speak of started in 2000. What has gone on in the past 11 years? Three major parties have made three major moves up and down the popular vote chart.

The Conservative popular vote since 2000:

2000: 12.2% (See: vote splitting, PCs/CA)
2004: 29.6%
2006: 36.3%
2008: 37.7%
2011: 39.6%

Yikes. The Conservative Party has tripled their popular vote in the past eleven years. What happened to the Liberal Party in the past 11 years is almost a mirror inverse, and probably directly correlated with Conservative gains.

The Liberal popular vote since 2000:

2000: 40.8%
2004: 36%
2006: 30.2%
2008: 26.3%
2011: 18.9%

While the Conservatives were busy tripling their popular vote, in the same timespan which included 7 years of Minority Governments, the Liberals more than halved their popular support.

The NDP popular vote since 2000:

2000: 8.5%
2004: 15.7%
2006: 17.5%
2008: 18.2%
2011: 30.6%

The jump between 2008 and 2011 can of course be explained by the complete decimation of the Bloc Quebecois. Which was bound to happen eventually. The elimination, or near-elimination, of a Quebec separatist party will have a major impact on national politics.

I have a hard time supporting the notion that a majority of Canadians "didn't support Harper," while technically true, their support has risen greatly in the last decade while support for the official opposition party has all but lost it's legs. If we eliminate Quebec from the picture for a moment, Conservatives absolutely do have a stronghold majority on the country.

The Bloc Quebecois for almost two decades was a factor in whether or not a majority government was elected. This was the case in 2008, where the country watched Quebec closely as it was possible the Conservatives could swing enough Bloc seats to capture a slim majority.

The political landscape in Canada is a big factor here. Quebec has been a major point of contention since the Bloc formed. Is it worth reforming our system which accounts for and allows parties like the Bloc to exist? Though their causes are irrelevant to the rest of the country, they are very relevant to the people of Quebec (see: local issues).

If anything, the elimination of the Bloc Quebecois should count as significant electoral system reform. That's 75 seats automatically returned and restored to the Canadian collective right there.

Between the clear, steady, indisputable climb in support of the Conservative Party since 2000, and the election this week that reduced the Bloc to de facto Independent status, nobody should be contesting Harper's majority. He won it fair and square, by steadily increasing his popular vote every election, and he even won it without Quebec or a Bloc Quebecois to speak of.

Why are we even talking about electoral reform, again?

* * * *

Our election system hasn't changed for my entire lifetime. Yet there is nothing to suggest that our system is "broken," it works as well as it did when I was born as it did on May 2nd 2011. Majority governments have come and gone, often flipping poles by alternating between Liberal and Conservative majorities.

Maybe there is something to be said about 7 years of minority rule and how it has affected our opinion. If it hasn't, it certainly has affected our politics. The past 7 years of minority government and weak Liberal Party leaders have been a large part why the NDP was able to produce a historic and unbeleiveable 2011 election result of 102 seats.

If there is any reason for me to doubt that our electoral system is broken, I cannot find it. All we can do for the moment, is sit and watch how well the Conservative Party that has been seeking majority since 2006 governs the country. Maybe he does well in the eyes of Canadians and is rewarded with a second majority, which if it happens, I can look forward to a much more vocal crowd of electoral reformers in 2015.

Just how good we got it?

2011-05-02T12:47:00.001-05:00

Sitting in an Elections Canada office in an E-day training last week, listening to repetitive droning, my mind wandered as I thought, "could they assume we were any dumber?"

But it's all a process. There are rules. There is even a disclaimer note about how the manual refers to the elector as a collective "he," and is not meant to be gender biased in any way. Everything is done on paper. Ensuring a paper trail exists. All the rules are to ensure the election is as free, fair and as void of interference as possible, The long list of possible identification documents is like a reminder that the goal is to get everyone to vote, to make it easy as possible to vote.

How good do we have it? Shall we count our virtues?

Last election, I wrote a comment piece for The Manitoban, which was also during the 2008 US Presidential election. All the hoopla, all the pomp and circumstance that surrounds a US election, prompted many to compare Canadian politics to American. That Canadian politics are boring and that we should wane to the exciting, edge-of-your-seat American style.

Three years later, my article still stands (though the archive link no longer works/exists, sorry) Canadian politics are devoid of the below-childish antics of American politicians. Devoid of ridiculousness such as whether or not Barack Obama was born in Hawaii. Or of hysterical debates over the location of a Mosque.

We do not have to listen to a rich millionaire businessman with a bad haircut and a bad reality TV show go on about Obama's birth certificate. We simply wouldn't put up with such egotistical grandstanding. We wouldn't put up with a candidate like Sarah Palin, we wouldn't allow a crackpot religious-right group like the Tea Party take root and become part of mainstream discourse.

This is the American system some, 3 years ago, so beloved. Now I am more likely to attribute that to the excitement surrounding Obama's campaign. The same American system now, 3 years into Obama's first term, shows what we Canadians proudly detest.

Union-crushing bills sweeping the nation, passing in Wisconsin, Ohio, that deny organized labour the rights to collectively bargain. That such legislation could even surface, to Canadians, is abhorrent.

The dictatorship legislation passing in Benton Harbour, Michigan? In which the state effectively blames democratically elected municipal governments as the problem, giving the state the power to dissolve your local government and replace it with an "Emergency Financial Manager."

The legislation that was tabled in Arizona that required a long-form birth certificate or, not joking, circumcision certificate, as proof of identity, to be put on the presidential ballot. Luckily it was vetoed by the Arizonan Governor.

Most insulting to citizens is that it is actually National Republican election strategy to make it as hard as possible for people to sign up to vote. This has manifested in several states which put all kinds of silly restrictions on being legally eligible to vote. Which is the complete opposite of universal suffrage

We can proudly say as Canadians that we try to remove all possible barriers to vote. At my E-Day training it was stressed that the point of the position of voter registration, is to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to vote. All people only need show proof of identity and proof of address...that is it.

That alone should make us proud and thankful to live here. When you try to do that down south, you might end up with something like the the outlandish "ACORN" so-called scandal. An organization advocating for low income families that was accused of voter fraud, for signing up poor and marginalized citizens to vote...people who would be inclined to vote Democrat.

Our scandals in Canada don't revolve around making things harder for people, or removing people's fundamental rights. We don't dictate where a Mosque can be built, there isn't even debate on it. These are all non issues for us in Canada. Our Federal issues are about economics, tax structures, military contracts over fighter jets.

And in 35 days...it's all over, we resume our normal lives. By the end of May 2nd, we will know who will be leading our country. We don't have to wait for voting machine counts and vote count challenges in federal courts, holding up the official announcement for days or weeks.

Look to the Middle East. People put their lives on the line for the kind of life we live. People immigrate here to find a better life without arbitrary prosecution.

Today you can have a say on who you think you should run the country you live in. Don't take that liberty lightly.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights: Wikileaks Cablegate

2011-04-29T18:02:00.003-05:00

Oh dear, the CMHR has just been uprooted and outright embarassed by a cable detailing political talks about CMHR.

You can view the cable right here.

What was expressed to the Ambassador?

That the CMHR would be "...an economic development project for the "regularly insulted" City of Winnipeg."

Again, we see the comparison to other museums and the need to beef up our "victim" of insultation even more: "..[the] driving desire is to offer visitors a powerful experience, equivalent to the Holocaust Museum in DC."

We're on budget! We're on budget! "The project is experiencing serious cost overruns and the Board seeks an additional $45 million infusion."

And for years we have seen how Gail Asper gallops around the world in support for the museum, to draw more fundraising partnerships, to panhandle and beg for a museum that could not be afforded in the first place. But how far in begging and pleading can one go?

"[Gail Asper] ended by making a strong plea for a Presidential [Obama] endorsement and appearance at a Museum event."

The cable released by Wikileaks is from an ambassador visitation from October 2009. Before the visitation dates, here are some examples of things that I was writing about:

1. Multiple references in the Cable to Holocaust, be it the architect of the Museum itself or the comparison to Holocaust museum in DC. Today, we hear about Holodomor and the debate continues over whether or not the Museum will end up as just another Holocaust museum.

Here are some of the things I have lobbied for and most importantly environmental rights issues.

2. In this blog post from May 2009 we see that the Museum was pegged at $265 million. Five months later, meetings took place that we can now view via Cablegate.

3. And almost a year before the meetings revealed in Cablegate, we were fighting the construction of an apartment tower at Upper Fort Garry because it might destroy buried artifacts.

Because, we all know that the site of CMHR has no artifacts under it and is most certainly not on any Aboriginal burial ground of any kind.

I will delve deeper into the information released by Wikileaks Cablegate over this weekend.

I cannot possibly express how important Wikileaks is, how important these cables are or how valuable these leaks are into holding people to account. And in Winnipeg, these are what our worries are...millionaire pet projects reaping taxpayers without limit. Wikileaks has proven invaluable to holding corrupt governments to account and the biggest impacts have been where the people most need them...the people without a voice and the people who have been supressed by their own governments.

The @wikileaks Twitter feed provides good updates and Greg Mitchell's daily recap of Wikileaks releases is a must-read, and makes it much easier to digest.

Never thought a Cable would hit so close to home, on an issue the mainstream media love to champion, did we?

Buried on B6: Downtown Revitalization

2011-04-26T16:41:00.005-05:00

Why does the Winnipeg Free Press do this? What? What is it the Free Press has done this time?

Well...not just this time. All the time. They hide and bury newsworthy stories that help change the face of our city in the Business section where nobody reads them.

Not just any stories, stories about revitalizing downtown. Of course, we all know that downtown revitalization, that phrase all public figures love so so much, does not happen in baby steps. It happens all at once. To suggest downtown revitalization happens building by building is anathema.

All that is a roundabout way of explaining why "downtown revitalization" stories are never promoted in local media. The headline will never read "crucial building reinvented, inching downtown along," it will read:

DOWNTOWN REVITALIZED!

So when we gettin' that stadium in Point Douglas?

Source article: St Charles Hotel plans by Murray McNeill.

Totally random

2011-04-18T19:52:00.005-05:00

This stuff cracks me up.

You don't say! No more striking out at the bar!

Oh boy I just can't wait to meet these hot babes. With tattoos yet! Is there anything Facebook can't do?!

On6! Does Red River Censorship really think they pulled the rug out from under our feet?

2011-04-09T16:25:00.004-05:00

The April no-fools emails posted by The Great Canadian Talk Show last week were without a doubt the best window for us to pore through to see what is going on over there at Red River Censorship.

From day one, we have been told that there are numerous complaints about Marty Gold and TGCTS. Through Freedom of Information requests, we have already determined that Red River College's Vice President Cathy Rushton fictitiously made up complaints, I guess in some kind of attempt to put something on the record. The only other instance of "complaints" are the following.

City Hall reporter Bartley Kives apparently didn't like Marty's style, so he sent former RRC President Jeff Zabudsky a heads-up. Zabudsky said, thanks Bart, but the radio station is not actually ours and it is important to let it operate at an arms length distance. Bart then replies, oh, okay then, in that case I'd rather not let the radio station board know.

For whatever reason, upon learning that he had to put a complaint in writing for it to have any legitimacy and send it to the station manager, NOT a Red River College official, Bartley Kives let the matter drop then and there.

So it would appear complaints from the Winnipeg Free Press were also non-existent. But while examining these documents I found something peculiar, and I am unsure that Marty Gold is even aware of this himself. The peculiarity lies in an email chain from station manager Rick Baverstock, after learning that Bartley Kives attempted to complain about TGCTS by circumventing the station and going "right to the top."

A certain Cathy Hanson (a KICK FM board member) forwarded the Kives-Zabudsky exchange to station manager Rick. It prompted a strong response from Rick, reminding various CreComm instructors that complaints MUST go through the station manager, or risk potentially breaching CRTC regulations.

Ah, the peculiarity I spoke of earlier, is not mentioned in the body of that email, but rather at the very top of the chain, as an FYI-forwarded message:

Station manager Rick's reminder of complaint policy WAS FORWARDED TO RRC VICE PRESIDENT CATHY RUSHTON BY FORMER PRESIDENT JEFF ZABUDSKY.

This email dated 23 October 2008, two years before TGCTS's cancellation, shows that Cathy Rushton was WELL AWARE of how the KICKFM radio station operates.

Not only was she aware of the so-called "complaint" from Free Press journalist Bartley Kives but she was also aware that his "complaint" fell flat because he did not have vindication enough to put it in writing. She was also aware of former President Zabudsky's response, where he stated that it was important that "... the station's operations and editorial policy not be directed by the college."

Therefore after spending considerable amount of time under former President Zabudsky, it is reasonable to conclude that Vice President Cathy Rushton was fully aware of Zabudsky's approach and mannerisms with respect to the radio station, it's function, it's relation to the college, and that for reasons of journalistic integrity and independence, NOT be interfered with by Red River College.

Zabudsky was even a fan of the show. He also made an appearance and was interviewed by TGCTS host Marty Gold. Zabudsky praised the work of TGCTS and the role that the show played for training students and as a community outlet.

But when President Jeff Zabudsky left, it was Cathy Rushton acting as interim president who could not wait to start her personal vendetta against free speech. It was Cathy Rushton acting as interim president who could not wait to tarnish the sterling reputation and pristine role model that Jeff Zabudsky had stood for during all 6 years of his presidency.

I wonder in what high regard Cathy Rushton holds Zabudsky in?

Collateral Murder 1 year anniversary: reminder on Libya

2011-04-05T17:02:00.005-05:00

One year ago today, on April 5th 2010, the world became familiar with the organization known as Wikileaks.

Before then few had heard of Wikileaks. But after a press conference in DC, mainstream media picked up on both the Collateral Murder video, Wikileaks analysis and commentary on it, and interviews with Julian Assange.

What is Collateral Murder?

CM is a video shot from an Apache helicopter in Iraq from 2007. It shows the Apache firing on unarmed men, and a civilian van coming to assist with wounded. Two of the unarmed men were journalists from the news agency Reuters. US soldiers in the Apache attempt to justify their engagement and applaud each other for their actions. Two children were in the van. Both of the children fortunately, survived.

It shows the blatant disregard for human life, and the realities of modern war overseas. Comparing it against mainstream media coverage of the wars, shows a press that is more than willing to convey the message that everything is being done to protect innocent civilians, and that we are only killing what the West collectively deems "the enemy." Everyone who is killed is an "insurgent," whether they actually are or not.

The ensuing Iraq War Logs published by Wikileaks in August of 2010 sheds light on this hard truth. Wikileaks' investigation showed that more than 15 000 civilian deaths were unaccounted for. All "insurgents" or "enemies," no doubt.

By June of 2010 just two months after the video's release, it had been viewed over 7 million times. Now, one year later, it has been viewed over 11 million times.

**WARNING**THIS VIDEO IS GRAPHIC AND SHOWS REAL PEOPLE BEING SHOT AND KILLED**

Collateral Murder's one-year anniversary comes at a time that allows us to reflect our current involvement in Libya.

We cannot drop bombs only on "the enemy." Though media discourse would have us believe what we read, which is that the NATO mission in Libya is strictly of a humanitarian effort to prevent a crisis. I am unaware of what kind of humanitarian operation involves the use of bombs.

The idea that we are only causing harm to one side in the course of our operations is laughable. If anything, it only shows how far we are willing to go to dehumanize others in an attempt to make everything black and white.

The late American historian Howard Zinn best captures the reality of war in my generation, and war in our time:

"We need to decide that we will not go to war, whatever reason is conjured up by the politicians or the media, because war in our time is always indiscriminate, a war against innocents, a war against children."

Indeed it is that.

When politicians come knocking on your door, please ensure they are aware of your feelings on our overseas military operations, and the lack of transparency and honesty surrounding them.

Bradley Manning, alleged source for providing the video to Wikileaks, was arrested one month after Collateral Murder was released, and remains in solitary confinement awaiting pre-trial to this day.

155th remembered on A7

2011-04-04T01:25:00.004-05:00

It is a sad state of affairs when the 155th Canadian Forces death in Afghanistan, first death of a CF in 2011, and first death of a CF in three months, is not even front page news.

Corporal Yannick Scherrer of the 1st Battalion, Royal 22nd Regiment died on March 27th, 2011.

Panjwaii, a longtime Taliban stronghold just 35 kilometres outside of Kandahar, has been a focus of Canadian involvement for at least 5 years. Corporal Scherrer's death serves yet another reminder of the dangerous nature of NATO operations in Afghanistan even in supposedly secure areas.

The 155th CF casualty came just one day after the Governor General David Johnston declared a Federal election. One. Day.

Yet it, and the Afghan mission Canadians are tied to until 2014, remain out of election rhetoric as the two major parties square off on the economy and the middle class taxpayer. Talk of the inflated cost of F-35s and minor dialogue about the CF role in Libya remain fringe elements of the 2011 election.

What do we represent as a nation who places their 155th CF casualty on page A7 of a major city broadsheet newspaper one day after an election is called?

What do we represent as a nation who can only produce two federally-elected officials who are willing to publicly and formally denounce the dictator regime of a Middle Eastern country?

It is evident this record-long war in Afghanistan has numbed the Canadian media over the past 10+ years to the point of no longer caring. And at that point, we as citizens of this country and the values it stands for, have unknowingly absolved ourselves of any responsibility or accountability overseas even to our own military personnel who have dedicated their lives to the service of their country.

Save my Lake!!! CBC!!! 7PM!!! TONIGHT!

2011-04-03T16:21:00.002-05:00

Reminding you that SAVE MY LAKE, a documentary about the environmental status of Lake Winnipeg narrated by David Suzuki, airs TONIGHT (Sunday) at SEVEN (7) PM on CBC.

So set those PVRs if you can't watch it!

You can review everything I've posted, including podcast-interviews with the producer of the film Paul Kemp, leading wetland ecologist Gordon Goldsborough, and Manitoba Liberal Party leader Jon Gerrard, right here in my handy link hub.

On6! Extra, Extra! Read all about it! On6!

2011-04-02T16:18:00.008-05:00

On6! The new Saturday Special from Progressive Winnipeg begins today! It is free of charge and available wherever you can access the internetz!

Tired of podcasts?! Too bad! Here's two more!

The Kenny Show featuring me. I will excuse Kenny's blatantly horrid attempt to spell my name as I know full well he would have failed CreComm if he handed in an assignment with such atrociousness.

You can listen to "the best ever Winnipeg Internet Pundits episode" according to Hostess-Tessa (Hostessa?!) here!. And (shameless plug), please LIKE WIPs on Facebook! And listen to us every Wednesday at 5pm on 101.5 UMFM.

And listen to UMFM Jared's awesome show too, every Wednesday (on right before us) at 4PM on 101.5 UMFM. Did you know Jared knows everything about the history of the Winnipeg Goldeyes? Well, now you can't say that you don't.

* * * * * *

How laughable was On7? Okay...now think...how laughable is Sunday Xtra? For some it may get a little more humourous.

The editor of Sunday Xtra has been soliciting bloggers for content in their free Sunday "news"paper. Of course, this blogger right here, hasn't been asked yet.

I am unsure if this displays the out-of-touchness Free Press staff have when it comes to online content, or if it is a sad last-ditch attempt, or both. I mean, theoretically, the editor of the Sunday Xtra may choose to start at the Free Press's own blogs to watch list. Then again, I may have been left out of this PR-outreach because of my occasional vulgarity, brashness, overall strong-opinion-ness, or my tendency to unabashedly bash the Free Press from time to time.

It's really hard not to, especially when readership of On7 took a 31% dive. I wrote the following stories about On7 and in retrospect, it all still stands up:

Today marks the last time I will pay for On7, Nov 1, 2009.
Why On7 and print media lose to smartphone apps, Nov 1, 2009
"There's no news in this thing", Nov 8, 2009
To the geniuses behind On7, June 21, 2010

And if you so wish, you can read about the "but how do I make money?" people, in this post from August 1, 2010.

Then again, if I was asked if my content could be used, I'd probably say no. I, a blogger, do not benefit in any way from dying industries struggling to get...someone...to read it.

* * * * * *

Speaking of the Winnipeg Free Press...

Remember that Marty Gold guy?

Since the Great Canadian Talk Show was silenced on November 8, 2010, we have heard repeatedly how there were absolutely no complaints about the show filed with either Red River College, KICK FM, or the CRTC, in the show's four-year history.

Not only was WFP editor Margo Goodhand directly involved in the show's termination based only on anecdotal evidence but the closest anybody came to putting any kind of complaint in writing, was esteemed City Hall reporter Bartley Kives.

Read all about it at TGCTS, which like me, was undoubtedly not contacted for content in tomorrow's Sunday Xtra. I wonder why.

News that ain't no April Fools.

Dr Jon Gerrard interview-podcast: Save my Lake

2011-03-29T00:54:00.004-05:00

The third podcast in the run-up to the airing of "Save my Lake," a documentary about the environmental state of Lake Winnipeg, on April 3rd at 7PM on CBC.

The Manitoba Liberal Party leader sat down with me for nearly a half-hour to talk about the political process of passing environmental legislation, and the political side of Lake Winnipeg.

Visit the "Save my Lake" tab at the top of my website for an archive of links and posts, as well as the other two interview-podcasts.

Insulting Democracy

2011-03-25T18:23:00.003-05:00

Ignatieff's reason for pulling the plug on Parliament seems to be "Stephen Harper's contempt for democracy."

I don't know exactly what that means. I do know two things for sure however, one, that it is a weak premise to run an election on. And two, that being responsible for the 4th election in 7 years shows not only "contempt" for democracy, but is also a direct insult to democracy.

The people of Canada vote under the pretense that the winning government will govern for four years. Therefore logic would follow that "respecting democracy" would be accepting your place as opposition government and letting a minority run for a full 4 year term. That would be the respectable, responsible thing.

An election every 1.75 years really grinds my gears.

The sky isn't falling. Unless you're on parliament hill. Then it is perpetually falling.

Maddow Show must-watch: Deepwater oil drilling regulation?

2011-03-25T01:47:00.001-05:00

If anyone is interested in the so-called "safety" measures oil corporations take, and especially in the wake of last year's BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, this is required watching.

Especially if you believe anything has changed since last April.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Wetland draining, flooding...again! Save My Lake

2011-03-24T12:41:00.002-05:00

Water Stewardship Minister Christine Melnick has a view things to say about this year's spring flood season, and what it means for Lake Winnipeg.

You can read her comments here in the WFP where a well-educated Water Steward Minister reflects what I wrote just the other day.

Scroll down for the "Save my Lake" post on wetland draining and flooding.

Wetland draining, flooding, and nutrients: Save My Lake

2011-03-23T09:58:00.005-05:00

"Save My Lake" is a documentary about the environmental issues surrounding Lake Winnipeg. It airs on April 3rd at 7PM on CBC.

As long as Manitoba has been colonized, for agricultural purposes our land was drained. Before this, the prairies and especially Southern Manitoba, were covered by prairies, wet meadows and wetlands.

This is a part of the natural history of our land that is largely ignored. The environmental impact of this activity is enormous. How enormous? Oak Hammock Marsh (which had it's first Canada Goose sighting on March 13th!), which you can get to after a short 20 minute drive north of Winnipeg, covers just 36 square kilometres, a paltry 8% of it's original 470 square kilometre area.

Apply this activity to all throughout the Red River Valley, up into the interlake, west to Lake Manitoba and Dauphin, and well...where does all the water go?

As spring is nearly upon us, snow starts to turn into rain, lakes appear on driveways and the city wages war on potholes, the first flood predictions come out and we collectively hold our breath to see how bad we're going to get it this time. For Lake Winnipeg, the spring melt and flood season mean all that agricultural runoff from the watershed region end up in the lake.

Putting my diagram-drawing skills honed by six years of formal education to the test, I'll try and make the science/environmental aspect of what this means a little easier to understand.

Water moves from left to right.

Here, spring melt ends up in a low-lying area or wetland, slowing the flow of water and nutrients. Runoff and silts settle in a wetland, which are themselves nutrient “sinks,” that is, a place where nutrients gravitate to.

If that is a “before” scenario, the “after” scenario is that the wetland is replaced with a drainage ditch, allowing all the water to flow freely and quickly to the nearest river.

Which is what we largely have now.

Wetlands are a key part of reducing the swelling of nearby rivers in springtime, and also catching nutrients before they can flow unabated into Lake Winnipeg. The nutrient that is present in large quantities in agriculture of course is phosphorous, which comes in the form of phosphorous-based fertilizers.

In the film a scientist from Ducks Unlimited states that springtime runoff can have phosphorous levels as high as 1-2 milligrams per litre, which is comparable even to some sewage effluent. If this can flow unobstructed directly into a river, it can travel hundreds of kilometres and eventually end up in Lake Winnipeg.

Programs are in place now to encourage keeping existing wetlands in place, or returning farmland that used to be a wetland, back into one. These programs and recreating wetlands and streams will prove to be essential in improving the environmental health of our lakes and rivers.

I highly urge people to go see Oak Hammock Marsh. Either now, to see returning migratory birds, or in the spring or summer. You don't even have to worry about mosquitoes (I'm not kidding!) There's more than enough to keep you going back, more than 30 kilometres exist for your exploration and the interpretive centre and website provide a ton of information.

So once again, the documentary airs on April 3rd at 7PM on CBC. You can join the Facebook group for the panel discussion and film viewing.

Reader poll: Federal Election 2011

2011-03-22T17:32:00.002-05:00

I'm making a call out to all you fine readers of my website to hit "post comment" and say something.

I just want to know what people's thoughts and feelings are about this upcoming election and our Federal Government in general. Please don't start arguing with each other though.

Personally, I don't want another election. No. No. No. I'm sick of this garbage. We will end up with another minority and then what? We'll go through all this bullshit again a year from now when the whining opposition (whoever they may be) pulls the plug on the 2012 budget. We'll go through it all again with different leaders and the same outcome.

I swear I'm voting for the Commies this time just out of spite.

Let's attack Ignatieff because of what he said after 9/11

2011-03-21T22:10:00.006-05:00

I caught this attack ad on TSN today while at Santa Lucia. I'm sure everyone by now has heard/seen some version of them, launched in late January. I suppose I had my brain turned on for a moment, while I was laughing at Pierre McGuire for being crunched into that tiny crawl space at Joe Louis, but I digress.

The quotes are hilariously stupid. Seven, ten-year-old quotes? What caught my eye? A quote from September, 2001. Hey wait, isn't that when 9/11 happened?

Who, seriously, is going to attack a guy because he says this FIVE DAYS after a world-changing terrorist attack on America?

"I love the Republic I live in." Michale Ignatieff, September 16, 2001

Ten year old quotes about 9/11 probably shouldn't make the cut for attack ads. That's just stupid.

But don't listen to me. Here's Rick Mercer...nobody better tell him he isn't a Newfoundlander because he works in Toronto.

Doesn't the US Army know what is truly "repugnant?"

2011-03-21T00:36:00.007-05:00

In a surprising publication, German magazine Der Spiegel has published photos of US soldiers posing beside dead Afghan civilians. Wait...no, that isn't so surprising.

After the Wikileaks data dumps, the Afghan War Diary and the Iraq War Logs, it became crystal clear just how abusive the US Military actually is. It laid clear for everybody, that war crimes were tolerated and dismissed, and that civilian casualties were not properly accounted for or reported. Other reports surfaced that some of the members of the Military are twisted enough to collect body parts of Afghans as trophies, and to go back before Wikileaks existed there was the infamous case of US soldiers posing with tortured Iraqis in various degrading and humiliating positions.

The US Military has a history of this within the last decade. It is something that affects more than one or two twisted individuals.

That the US Army would then release a statement about how 'repugnant' Der Spiegel is for publishing these photos, is repugnant in itself. The actions of the US Army, the Pentagon, and the US Government, is repugnant. That they have knowingly allowed numerous injustices and war crimes to happen, and that they have completely disregarded human rights for the people of the Middle East since they first set foot in Afghanistan in 2001.

That the US Army would rather lash out at the publication of these photos as if they should remain a secret, is repugnant. Indeed it is high time the US release a statement saying that they are ashamed of their actions and of the soldiers who choose to do these sickening acts.

If anyone is going to tell me that the leaking of this information is not of any real consequence or that Wikileaks is irrelevant, then I would like to know what justifies keeping these hideous acts and blatant violations of international law a secret, and why a country's people should not be allowed to know what their military is really up to.

That the US Government treats Bradley Manning as a threat of national security, is folly in the face of the actions it's own soldiers are taking overseas. The people who have committed these atrocious actions were not subjected to solitary confinement or degrading conditions themselves. Figures.

It's all repugnant.

**EDIT**

It turns out the men accused of taking Afghani body parts as 'trophies' are the same men in the photos that Der Spiegel has published. 12 soldiers are in court martial right now and have denied the charges against them, and despite the thousands of photographs as well as videos Der Spiegel has obtained, they have all denied the charges against them.

Grande PWND by a parking meter

2011-03-18T18:24:00.007-05:00

As I said the other day, the problem/issue here is that all the OTHER aspects of parking downtown are not addressed. The meters, are in 60% of cases, improperly programmed.

On top of that, many people don't know how they work. Maybe another problem is that the clowns running organizations like the Downtown BIZ and who write op-eds about how great parking is don't even know how the meters work.

Published in today's WFP Letter to the Editor:

"[Stefano Grande] says that parkers can't plug the metre before 9, but with the new stations this statement is completely wrong. You can put money in the new parking stations any time before 9, and the ticket it issues starts at 9."

Wait...but this would mean...

THAT EXTENDING THE HOURS OF PARKING IS COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!!!!

How bad is that? Your own parking machines are beating you at debate. The WPA and Downown BIZ can't even stack a statement against the heralded parking meters.

Time to stop writing baseless op-eds, educate your own employees (starting at the top, Grande), and fix the foundation of parking downtown before you start fooling around with silly rate increases.

Parking made complicated

2011-03-16T18:17:00.006-05:00

It's hard not to gush out a profanity-laced smackdown of the Winnipeg Parking Authority and the Downtown BIZ. Parking just isn't handled with the right mindset.

The issue that the Parking Authority wants to address: parking turnover, and parking availability.

"Price per hour" is irrelevant in this discussion.

If the idea is that you need to pay - anything - for parking, and that if you don't you will get a parking ticket, then price does not matter.

What is the real problem the Winnipeg Parking Authority needs to address? Enforcement. By-law enforcement, removal of illegal signs (yes, the Parking Authority puts up illegal signs), making sure parking metres actually work, and just the general all-round enforcement of parking downtown. If your metre expires, you get a ticket. If you're squatting in a loading zone, you get a ticketed/towed.

Look, if you pay ONE CENT for an hour of parking, and your hour expires, you (should) get a ticket. If you pay TEN DOLLARS for the SAME hour of parking, you will still get a ticket if your hour expires! So how does a higher rate force MORE turnover?! It makes no fucking sense!

Psychologically, in the back of my mind, whether I pay once cent for an hour or ten dollars, it's still in the back of my mind: MY METRE IS GOING TO EXPIRE! Thus we come to how this is going to make Winnipeggers feel BETTER about parking downtown.

How can you possibly feel better about paying MORE for the same hour, and still having it in the back of your mind. It now becomes "shit, I gotta get all this done in less than two hours." Conversely, a shopper at Polo Park, has no conception of time. What is in the back of the mind of the Polo Park shopper? What to have for dinner? That you need to remember to pick up milk on the way home? That you're not looking forward to getting up at 630AM on Sunday for your 7 year old kid's hockey game?

Aren't we trying to make parking easier, simple, straitforward? No, Stefano Grande of the Downtown BIZ says we should maybe plant "MY METRE IS GOING TO EXPIRE" in the minds of WEEKEND downtown visitors!

"...weekend parking should encourage more visitors to downtown. Perhaps paying one dollar for three hours would allow Saturday parkers to still have two hours free and would provide for more leisurely shopping."

Leisurely!

What is leisurely in Winnipeg? Parking at a mall on a weekend, and walking in with naught a care in the world, save for your chequing account balance.

Remember I mentioned that illegal signage? Grande forgot to mention that signs downtown ALREADY say that you have to pay to park on Saturday. Even though you don't. And I see those parking slips on TONS of cars on the weekends. Suckers that didn't know any better. After all, isn't the metre supposed to refuse your money beyond operating hours?

Grande even alludes to as much, saying that people come for meetings before 9AM, but then they can't plug the metre till 9AM when paid parking is supposed to start!

Kim the traffic reporter (did we all forget about that awesome work TGCTS did already?) found that 60% of metres last summer ACCEPTED PAYMENT! Only 36/114 metres said you didn't have to pay!

What does all this say about parking downtown? It says, to me, that the Parking Authority is out to nickel and dime you and screw you over. They have improperly programmed machines, illegal signs, and enforcement is, well, I'll let you talk to a downtown business owner for yourself about enforcement. Especially them "loading zones."

To summarize my anger:

1. Parking rate increases do not create more spaces or more turnover.
2. Parking metres and signs already say you have to park on weekends.
3. Psychologically, there is nothing "leisurely" about paying to park on Saturday.
4. Raising rates does not make parking downtown more attractive.
5. Enforcement as it is, could become much, much better.

Most importantly:

6. Ensuring that ALL metres are properly programmed, all signs are CORRECT, no signs are MISLEADING, and punting loading zone squatters, would go much, much, much further to improving downtown parking than any rate changes.

Interview with Dr Gordon Goldsborough: Save my Lake

2011-03-14T22:18:00.009-05:00

The second interview-podcast in promotion of "Save my Lake," a documentary about the environmental issues surrounding Lake Winnipeg airing on April 3rd at 7PM on CBC.

Dr Gordon Goldsborough is a wetland ecologist in Manitoba, a leading scientist working on Lake Winnipeg, and an associate professor at the University of Manitoba. We talk about Manitoba Hydro, the affect of water level stabilization on the Lake, and discuss what impact marshes have on Lake ecology.

Gord will also be featured as part of an expert panel and discussion at a [TBA date], following a screening of the film. Join the Facebook event page for that.

And, Dr Goldsborough, the historian! (///teaser)

Here's a bunch of links and more information that is talked about in the podcast:

My (historically archived c.2008) post that is referenced: about incentives to restore wetlands.

The Manitoba Habitat Heritage Corporation.

The Government of Manitoba's Wetland restoration incentive program.

Fire-destroyed Elmwood CC support drive: Ace Burpee

2011-03-13T17:19:00.002-05:00

Ace has compiled all the different ways you can help support the Elmwood community on his WFP blog.

That's two CC's in Elmwood in recent years. Elmwood needs the support of everyone in Winnipeg.

Save my Lake: Date Changes IMPORTANT

2011-03-11T18:01:00.003-06:00

In reaction to the earthquakes in Japan, CBC has postponed the "Save my Lake" documentary to April 3rd, 7PM, to allow for a two-part Nature of things documentary on earthquakes to air.

Which sounds reasonable to me. So we'll take that minor setback in stride.

The Panel Discussion however, is now TBA. I will let everyone know as soon as I know those details.

There is a Facebook event page for the Panel Discussion at the Winnipeg Art Gallery. So please sign up, tell everyone you know to sign up, and I'll let you know what's happening with the panel discussion as soon as I get the information.

Thanks and keep following!

The Watershed: Save my Lake

2011-03-11T16:59:00.005-06:00

Friday's subject for the "Save my Lake" series here at Progressive Winnipeg is the Lake Winnipeg watershed.

Before we start, we need to ask "what is a watershed?"

Watershed: Entire region drained by a waterway into a lake or reservoir. (Elements of Ecology, Smith and Smith, 2003)

Going back to the above image, it means that all of the water inside the orange "watershed" area, will eventually end up in Lake Winnipeg. It might, for example, start off as a rainstorm, then water running off a field into a creek, then the creek empties into the Little Saskatchewan River, then the Little Sask empties into the Assiniboine River, then the Assiniboine empties into the Red River and then...the Red River empties into Delta Marsh at Lake Winnipeg.

The Lake Winnipeg Watershed covers a massive, massive region. From just East of the Rockies, all the way to the Canadian Shield landscape, ending just West of Thunder Bay.

When we talk about runoff from farmers fields, or sewage treatment, when we talk about implementing any kind of strategy to help slow the flow of human-created wastes into the lake, we need to realize that it isn't JUST the Red River. It isn't JUST the City of Winnipeg. As producer Paul Kemp says in the podcast, "if you flush your toilet in Banff, it eventually makes it's way to Lake Winnipeg."

Of course this doesn't mean that we can shift blame to other provinces or cities. The priorities for us as Manitobans haven't changed: sewage output into the Red River from Winnipeg remains one of the most important issues we need to address. Agriculture in Manitoba also remains a high priority, because of the proximity of our agriculture to our Lake.

We as Winnipeggers and Manitobans, are familiar with the complexities of dealing with issues that fall outside our own border. Devil's Lake may come to mind. Devil's Lake lies inside the Watershed region. But two forces come together in a delicate situation. Us on one side, protecting the interests of our waterways and lakes, and "them" on the other side, who face a different problem or perhaps something that they do not view as a problem.

City wastes and agricultural runoff from the entire prairie region east of the Rockies, it all ends up here, in our province, in our Lake. Coupled with the widespread loss of wetlands across the prairies, the situation is looking a little grim.

But it isn't all bad news. Many programs are starting to get underway. In partnership with Ducks Unlimited, and Alternative Land Use Services (ALUS) as well as others, are promoting the maintenance of wetland on farm property or the restoration of historical wetlands. In attempt to restore some of what has been lost over the couple centuries worth of land drainage.

And locally, you can go to the wonderful and amazing Oak Hammock Marsh (and take your camera!). Inside the city, you can visit Fort Whyte. Both are excellent education centres that focus on the function of wetlands.

Hopefully this discussion about the Lake Winnipeg Watershed will help you realize the scope and scale in which we are talking about when we discuss environmental issues that relate to Lake Winnipeg.

Interview with Paul Kemp; producer of "Save my Lake"

2011-03-10T19:51:00.011-06:00

Producer of the documentary "Save my Lake," a film about Lake Winnipeg, graciously gave me a bunch of interview time. Paul Kemp is from Stornoway Productions.

Remember, the film airs on CBC on March 17th at 9PM local time. A screening will also occur at the Winnipeg Art Gallery on March 22nd, followed by a panel discussion hosted by Terry Mcleod.

The chat with Paul was a wide-sweeping one, about most of the topics covered in the film.

"...every year they're scrambling just to get gas to keep that thing going. If it wasn't for [Winnipeg Research Consortium], we'd be in big trouble." Paul Kemp, commenting on the Lake Winnipeg research vessel Namao.

Thought my first podcast went pretty well, though at times because it was a phone interview, was a little tricky. It's my first time not only podcasting but also recording an interview, as well as editing it. Which all went pretty smooth except for a couple minor hiccups.

I will be posting a second podcast on Monday, with Dr Gordon Goldsborough, and continue my week-long "Save my Lake" coverage tomorrow, on the extent of the Lake's watershed.

*Please leave a comment or email me if you are having trouble with the podcast*

Beginning tomorrow (today): Progressive Winnipeg feature on Lake Winnipeg

2011-03-09T23:22:00.004-06:00

Starting (Thursday, March 10th), I will be posting a daily feature on Lake Winnipeg, for a whole week, leading up to (April 3rd).

On the 17th, a Nature of Things documentary called "Save my Lake" will air on CBC. The one-hour documentary will describe the problems Lake Winnipeg faces, laying out the grim, hard truths.

So in the lead-up to (April 3rd), I thought I would take the time to lay out key issues myself on this very website. With my own background in this field, I will try to communicate the sciences behind Phosphorous, pollution, nutrient loading, extent of the watershed, and the role Manitoba Hydro plays, to you, the reader, as best I can.

My goal is to further educate people on this incredibly paramount problem, and to try and get as many people as I can to watch the film on CBC.

In addition to this undertaking, I will also be producing at least two interview-podcasts (a Progressive Winnipeg first!), both with the producer of the film, Paul Kemp, as well as renowned and leading Lake Winnipeg scientist, Dr Gordon Goldsborough.

And in addition to all of that, I will also create a handy "Save my Lake" tab at the top with all the links to my posts and to pertinent information.

Thanks for reading (citizen journalism, booya!) and stay tuned!

Fail

2011-03-09T00:01:00.003-06:00

This might very well be the most hated man in Winnipeg.

So consider making this wonderful piece of artwork your Facebook profile picture.

Winnipeg mention, circa 2002 Futurama

2011-03-06T23:48:00.002-06:00

Caught this just now watching some Futurama. I swear I heard "something something something-innipeg." Okay I wasn't really watching, it was more just in the background.

Then I looked up the script:

Hermes: Sweet guinea pig of Winnipeg! They've taken over our company!

Episode is "Route of all evil" in which they attempt to brew beer inside Bender (one of the best cartoon characters ever IMO), and the kids buy out Professor Farnsworth's company.

Matt Groening and co evidently hasn't forgotten us!

Uh, can we? Please, Uncle?

2011-03-06T21:52:00.005-06:00

Though events in Egypt may not be as enthralling as they were a month ago, the hardcore Middle Eastern journalists are nowhere near out of work. And as such there is a piece (by Fisk) which I thought was pretty humourous:

"...the Americans have asked Saudi Arabia if it can supply weapons to the rebels in Benghazi."

"If the Saudi government accedes to America's request....it would be almost impossible for President Barack Obama to condemn the kingdom for any violence against the Shias of the north-east provinces."

Please, Uncle Dictator Saudi Arabia, can we pleeease supply weaponry to the people fighting your dictator drinking buddies from Libya? Please? We'll deny protests are happening in your country if you do!

Quantico rhymes with Guantanamo

2011-03-04T22:17:00.004-06:00

Who is Bradley Manning? This wonderfully compact and short article from The Guardian should fill you in;

"In recent days and weeks the US government has condemned human rights abuses and repression in almost every country across the Middle East – yet at a prison within its own borders it sanctions the persecution, alleged psychological torture and debasement of a young soldier who appears to have made a principled choice in the name of progress."

And my piece which appeared in the December 26th 2010 WFP here.

A plagiarist, of course

2011-03-02T15:30:00.002-06:00

My my is there ever a lot of fluffy stuff out there today, or is it just me? And by that I don't mean snow, I mean fluffy internet stuff. It very well could be just me, believing that yes, mainstream news sources have grown tired of covering protesting and dissent and civil war in Africa and the Middle East and have turned to other things.

Or it could just be today, and today, the #2 most popular story on the BBC is Copy and Paste Plagiarism.

Unbeknownst to the BBC but beknownst to me, the BBC is approximately 10 years late.

I can share a personal anecdote with readers. Approximately 10 years ago, I was attending high school. At the fine institution of River East Collegiate, the library staff were especially proud of the money that had been forked over to subscribe to an information database known as EBSCOhost. This was before the days of Wikipedia.

The librarian quickly garnered the nickname "ebsco host" for insisting we all use the service, while she proceeded to give lectures on different ways to determine if a source material on the internet was legitimate or otherwise. This is something that over the next two or three years, morphed into something else entirely in University. Every single class at University, at some point in the first class or two, has the teacher giving a mini lecture on plagiarism.

Some teachers/profs shrugged it off. But increasingly and especially with the advent of Wikipedia, more and more professors chose to include something about the internet, take a swing at Wikipedia (especially History professors), and deride would-be plagiarists that were no doubt sitting right in front of them and would do it anyway.

The biggest flaw with plagiarism and it's place in academia, is that it is rarely enforced or searched for.

Let me revisit University and, the source material for this blog post (the BBC piece), for a moment. Few if any professors actually check for plagiarism. They outright tell you amidst their arrogance and egos, that they "know" when you've been plagiarizing. Sort of like Santa Clause I suppose. And this article, I said before was ten years late, is because it is....if you were in high school with me at the turn of the century.

A teacher at my high school, who will of course go unnamed and anonymous, was catching plagiarists as early as Ms Ebscohost was preaching the virtues of...EBSCOhost. This particular teacher, a mere high school teacher, had devised a way to catch plagiarists in the act and actually prevent them from graduating high school.

Sound mean? Too bad for the would-be plagiarist. What kind of sick, insidious method had this high school teacher devised exactly? What the engineers would call "reverse engineering."

Yes, as it turns out, you can type a sentence or phrase into The Google and it will magically come up.

As simple as simple can get. Catch the plagiarist by using his own methods. That was ten years ago. Now, I can type a quote into Google if I forget who said it, I can type a lyric in to get the name of a song or artist. And yes, dumbass, it works the same way for your paper that is due tomorrow.

Unfortunately for the betterment of academia, I don't think many profs have caught on to the "Google the plagiarist" game, despite how smart they may think they are.

This high school teacher spotted a paragraph that seemed suspect, and literally went to a computer and typed in word for word a sentence, or two, or three, into a search engine and presto pesto, Mountain View California performed miracles. I also know for a fact, that because of the small class sizes he had, he did this for all of our papers. Mine included, though I was most certainly more academically inept and not a class clown, he checked everybody's.

I have half a mind to go back and ask him how many plagiarists he's caught over the past ten years. Then show him this BBC article...

And this blog post, the whole purpose of which is to say...that the BBC piece does not mention how easy it is to catch plagiarists. Or of the "reverse engineering" technique. It goes on into generational divides and "mixing," and ends up quoting a 17 year old girl saying that the real conundrum is authenticity.

Plagiarism is bad, mmkay?

Two boo-boos for Bill Redekop in two days

2011-03-02T00:40:00.005-06:00

It's been a bad week for little Billy.

Republished from the WFP dead tree edition Monday March 1st.

Re: MDC has a friend in Portage group (Feb. 22). Bill Redekop's article wasn't fair or balanced at all. He refers to "critics like People First," yet he never made any attempt to obtain their side of the story.

He even asks the question, "Can every person with a mental disability live in a group home?" I don't think so, either. But that's not what this issue is all about. And while there have been cases of abuse reported at group homes, there is also documented evidence of abuse within institutions like the Manitoba Developmental Centre.

Redekop makes no mention of this. I know of no cases where former residents have asked to be returned to the MDC after trying a group home.

The article refers to a petition from Marvin Krawec and Friends of the MDC signed by, among others, Dr. Glen Lowther of Portage. In a message to me, Krawec said, "It's rather difficult for Dr. Lowther to sign the petition, unless he's signed it from beyond."

Redekop did get one thing right, though. This is a controversy that will not go away anytime soon.

Harry Wolbert
Friends of People First

Thank goodness another news outlet is coming here. Maybe they will give us untrained bloggers a shot at employment. *applies*

The Cathy Rushton Red River Censorship running total

2011-02-28T22:25:00.004-06:00

Like they tell you in hockey officiating, "[penalties] are like items at a grocery till. Just keep ringin'em up."

As such is the same with Red River Censorship's Vice President Cathy Rushton. Ahem.

1. Despite there being zero formal complaints filed about TGCTS, "...we've had any number of complaints about [Marty Gold] from people who's opinions we care about."

2. Mislead the entire KICK FM Board to believe that Mayor Sam Katz had complained about the show, without producing a copy to the rest of the board.

3. Mislead the entire KICK FM Board to believe that Federal Minister Vic Toews had complained about the show, without producing a copy to the rest of the board.

4. Stated she was "not big on censorship at all, but..."

5. When the Winnipeg Police Association contacted Red River College upon hearing of TGCTS's cancellation, Rushton dismissed their concerns as "an example of [station manager] Rick lobbying for support."

6. Stated she "...did not want to create the impression that this is about censorship."

TOTAL:

(1) Ruined Livelihood
(1) Ruined reputation
(1) Interference with freedoms of expression and opinion
(1) Successfully prevented freedom of speech
(1) Successfully implemented full censorship in Red River College
(1) Less media outlet in Winnipeg
(1) Less person holding people such as herself to account
(6) Board members mislead by her personal vendetta to silence Mr Gold
(3) RRC students mislead by her personal vendetta to silence Mr Gold

Cha-ching. Let's see how much more expensive this gets for you, Cathy.

Bill Redekop fails at journalism

2011-02-22T00:53:00.004-06:00

As a person who is quite interested in this field and have essentially taken it upon myself to study it, very very strange things crop up from time to time.

Ya'll heard'a rolla derby?

Good. 'Cause guess what? There's a really kickass roller derby league right here in Winnipeg and all the culture and community the entertaining spectacle creates to go along with it.

Bill Redekop , a rumoured journalist, seems to have been at a roller derby event. Aha, see what I did there? It may make more sense in a moment as I continue to dissect this sorry excuse of a piece from a supposedly professional writer.

The first half of the article is about roller derby. Those that aren't in the know can read up on the good humoured nature of the sport.

Then we see some hard data. The place was sold out, 2000 seats. The sport is growing. There are 80 players in Winnipeg, three teams, and another one trying to get into the league.

Then Redekop writes:

There was a rumour circulating last night that Winnipeg's next roller derby won't be for another year.

Now, the reeeason why this caught my eye is because he had just finished quoting a certain Ms Warkentin, who is a roller derby player herself, aaaaaand the DIRECTOR OF MARKETING for the Winnipeg Roller Derby League.

You'd think such a "rumour" could be easily dispelled by...asking the DIRECTOR OF MARKETING. Hey, it would even be a good thing to put IN the article right? This is huge, it's sold out, people love it, this could really catch on, when is the next show?

Now I'm no "professional," but it seems to me when writing an overly positive piece about a great thing going on in Winnipeg, to include that there may not be another show for like, a year, or like, something, when you had like, the director of marketing like, RIGHT THERE, is irresponsible.

I say irresponsible because this story is something that for all the right reasons, is positive, and for a growing sport, and something that is kind of lesser-known, to get that kind of ink and then tarnish it with some stupid rumour you could have cleared yourself right then and there is doing a disservice to that business.

They teach putting rumours into your stories in that ivory toweresque journy school? For the WFP, rumours suffice.

Not a one-off either by the way. A certain editor at the Free Press is quite fond of a rumour that involves one of her own journalists crying. Mention the name "Kowalson" around election time and it was like a magnet for the WFP and the rumour squad.

I heard the WFP is going to stop home deliveries on Wednesdays too. For unlucky subscribers, you will be able to drive to one of 11 "Newspaper Depots" to obtain your copy.

Oh and this guy right here? Rumour has it he didn't go to journalism school but he is currently unemployed. Fortunately he's got a 4-year record of work samples, right here, for your convenience (you know, in case anyone is interested). I'm a good writer, good researcher, good at organizing information, and I like full moons lighting up the lonely winter nights. (Figured that was better than "long walks on the beach.")

I wish I went to school. Then I could get away with rumours and lies and all sorts of things and make money! Bill Redekop can write rumours and get paid for it, Cathy Rushton blabs about politicians complaining about Marty Gold just cause she didn't like him, even though they didn't complain (and she still has her cushy job), Margo Goodhand makes up stuff about her own reporters to get her way, and even if you're the President of the United States, you can lie about having extramarital affairs and keep your image as pristine as an innocent schoolboy.

But no, like a sucker I chose to slug it out on the "practice makes perfect" route. Hard work sucks. Go to school, kids.

(Next 'Derby is April 30th BTW)

What can men be, after this?

2011-02-19T03:00:00.003-06:00

"What are these people? What can men be after this?" he exclaimed incoherently, in bitter despondency, almost despair. At that moment he had no desire to live.

"Is it worth it? Is it worth it?!" exclaimed the boy in his grief.