By samanthaorwell on June 18, 2008 - 2:39pm
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/3-handsome-possibiliti...
Fabula (Francis Bula) has been doing an “addictively” sensational job covering the municipal elections. Some comments:
I’ve come up with 3 handsome possibilities for November:
Possibility of a Vision-COPE alliance?
I like the sounds of that actually. I would vote for Vision’s playboy-juice man if he were endorsed by my favourite oppositional Santa Claus-looking councilor, David Cadman. As previously discussed, Vision and COPE don’t’ necessarily have to duke it out if both of them can agree to be chummy. As Fabula stated, Gregor Robertson isn’t one of the “traitors” that split COPE and therefore is baggageless.
And there are also talks of David Eby and Andrea Reimer running. I assume Andrea Reimer will be aligned with Vision… David Eby? Where would he be? I think he should be aligned with COPE because everybody would vote for David Eby just because he’s a freaking hero.
COPE runs David Cadman
By samanthaorwell on June 15, 2008 - 9:45pm
FULL POST WITH LINKS AND PICTURES
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/juice-man-squeezes-out...
So Gregor Robertson wins on the first ballot. Easily. I must say, I am surprised.
No surprise De Genova didn't have a chance though.
But I'm surprised there was a sorry turnout for Louie. I still think Louie would have been the better candidate against Ladner. Now, come election in November you have pretty much the same people running against eachother. Robertson has been called, "Peter Ladner's younger, taller, more tanned brother". Pretty much the same politics, just different parties.
I still believe Ladner will take it in November. He's got more experience and he's much more competent than our little playboy-juice man Gregor.
But how about the news of a Louie campaigner coming out to tell Francis Bula the they lost. Talk about unprofessional. That campaigner is going to be in trouble, no doubt. You don't admit defeat until it is official. Especially to media.
You can read more from Francis Bula:
[Robertson] defeated two-term city councillor Raymond Louie and park-board commissioner Allan De Genova. The vote drew a record number of voters, almost 7,000 out of 13,000 members, which is almost unheard of for a civic nomination race. He won easily on the first ballot with over 3,400 votes out of 6,771.
By samanthaorwell on June 14, 2008 - 11:01am
READ FULL WITH LINKS:
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/discrimination-in-hous...
Many people don't realize that a lot of people are homeless because of discriminatory housing policies. When finding my own place to live I faced discrimination. In some buildings a young student can be seen as bad because we "party all the time" and are irresponsible. In some houses they WANT a young student so they can mesh with the other roomates in the house.
But being a student really is the least of a persons problems because it is a short moment of one's life. So imagine NOT being able to secure housing because you were an immigrant, you didnt' speak English, you were black, gay, in a wheelchair, or lord knows.. not as good lookin as the other people wanting the place.
That is discrimination, my friend and it is illegal. Landlords or housing providors are not allowed to discriminate on any of those basis even though you feel they would be a better tenant/roomate due to some preferences. It is a difficult debate because we have been brainwashed to believe in PRIVATE PROPERTY and that our property is ours to deny other people entrance.
By samanthaorwell on June 12, 2008 - 12:54pm
READ FULL HERE:
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/get-over-your-whitenes...
I was recently invited to put my opinion down on rabble.ca, a national progressive political website. In true VancouverManifesto style I have been prohibited to post due to my language being interpreted as racist, amongst other things.
When did we become SO hypersensitive and SO politically correct? Political correctness is just an attempt to "make pretty" real issues. Political correctness is an ideology in itself- an assumption that you are doing justice and correcting wrongs by stepping around the raw words that have been used in a derogatory way in the past towards marginalized groups. Pretending that constructions of race, gender and other ideologies do not exist do not do justice to those who were/are marginalized- it conceals the fact that racISM and sexISM DO exist. Not recognizing that there is difference and that people perceive eachother with such difference (whether we like it or not) also does not do justice.
Full post with links:
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/wheelchair-accessible-...
Earlier this month the Sam Sullivan had a perfect photo op for Translink’s 100% wheelchair accessible system. I don’t know that we can credit Sam Sullivan for this breakthrough in Vancouver, but I have to admit that the city is making amazing progress with respect to making physical spaces accessible to people.
Mayor Sam Sullivan said being able to get around with ease and freedom is a luxury most people don’t know they have.
“It’s amazing to (now) be able to go into any bus in the city,” he said.
“I love the new buses,” McCain added. “I love the fact that you can back in and don’t have to lock your chair. You don’t need any help.”
“(This) will get more people on the transit system.”
READ FULL POST WITH LINKS AND PICS HERE:
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/starbucks-is-taking-ov...
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Starbucks is taking over Toronto too
The Toronto Star published something very interesting today.
It is a story about Starbucks. I think Vancouverites take our coffee shops for granted. Satrbucks doesn't often make the headlines. In Vancouver we sort of assume it will happen. Death, taxes, Starbucks. All in the same. But Toronto has a critical eye on some of the Starbucks that have gone in their downtown in the last few decades.
If you’ve ever been to Toronto you know that they have as many Tim Horton’s as we do Starbucks. I can understand the appeal. It’s cheap, open 24 hours and is a one stop shop for a snack, meal and/or coffee.
But Toronto isn’t exactly a café-culture town. It’s really a pub town, people streaming up and down the streets of Bloor, College, Queen and Richmond in their respective neighbourhood watering holes. But perhaps Toronto is trying to get some of the café culture acclaim that Vancouver and Montreal so enviously master.
By samanthaorwell on June 4, 2008 - 11:58am
Full post with links here:
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/06/housing-unaffordabilit...
Care of Michael Shapcott- A housing activist located in Toronto:
A staggering one-in-four Canadian households are in the housing affordability danger zone – paying 30% or more of their income on housing. Even more troubling, the poorest Canadian households – renters – face the worst affordability problems.
New data released today by Statistics Canada confirms that the cost of housing – rental and ownership – has been rising faster than the rate of inflation, and has been rising faster than household incomes. Full report HERE.
That translates into a nation-wide affordable housing crisis for renters and owners, which the StatsCan numbers confirm has grown worse in the five years leading up to the 2006 Census. Behind the figures is the terrible reality that millions of Canadians don’t have enough money to pay their rent, or mortgage payments, and also cover other necessities such as growing energy costs, medicine, food, transportation, clothing and other basics.
Renters feel sharpest pain
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/05/ladner-and-sullivan-de...
News from David Eby's blog has got me all hot and bothered. Ladner-love full speed ahead in municipal debate:
In any event, the two NPA mayoral candidates will be debating on the CBC Early Edition show next Wednesday morning between 7 and 8 a.m.Over on the Vision side, they'll be holding another debate, one in which the three candidates will hopefully get a bit edgier with each other, at the SFU Harbour Centre Fletcher Theatre on Thursday, June 5 at 7:30 p.m.
I'm likely the only person in the world who identifies with the left but still is in love with Ladner. My originality precedes me.
In other Peter Ladner news, he now has a sworn enemy-blog style. http://thepeterladnerprinciple.blogspot.com/ is a smear campaign all about Ladner-hate. This confuses me- how can somebody hate Ladner so much using every entry as a chance to denouce such a charming man? I think he's secretly a Sullivan-man giving my boyfriend, Ladner, a bad name.
Shame.
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/05/ladner-and-sullivan-de...
