Fight The HST

This was sent to my by my very good friend Craig. And since I don't want to face his wrath, I post it as per his orders.


To my friends in BC, and those of you not in BC but with family and friends in BC:

Read this, chuckle, then (most importantly) go here and find out where in your riding you can sign the petition to fight the HST in person, and then go and sign it -- assuming you agree, of course. (This is not one of those useless online petitions that are a waste of time. It's the real thing.) From what I've heard though, in order for a referendum on this to pass, 50% of voters actually have to vote in the referendum! So when the referendum happens, GO AND VOTE!

Oh, and forward this to everyone you know in BC and post it on your blogs in the next five minutes, or a plague of locusts will descend on you. Honest.


-----


The old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years he had faithfully served the people of British Columbia. He motioned for his nurse to come near.

"Yes, Father?" she said.

"I would really like to see Gordon Campbell and Colin Hansen before I die."

"I'll see what I can do, Father."

The nurse sent the request to the Premier's office and waited for a response. Soon the word arrived that the Premier and Finance Minister, devout Christians both, were delighted to visit the priest. As they went to the hospital, Gordon commented to Colin, "I don't know why the old priest wants to see us but it will certainly help our images and might even get us some favourable publicity ahead of the HST."

Colin agreed that it was a good thing. When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Gordon's hand in his right hand and Colin's hand in his left. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face. Finally Gordon Campbell spoke. "Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end?"

"I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

"Amen," said Gordon.

"Amen," said Colin.

The old priest continued, "Jesus died between two thieves. I would like to do the same."

PICC Line & Pump

Last Tuesday morning I had my second MRI in six weeks. The first I had when the baby was one day old and now this most recent one. On both occasions they were looking at my jaw, and specifically the state of my jaw bone.

On September 30th I had my upper and lower wisdom teeth removed on the right side of my face. This was due to them coming in suddenly and causing me some serious angst. And of course, the lower one was impacted badly and had abscessed. This of course was a dental and medical nightmare given that I was six months pregnant.

The dental surgeon I was sent to removed them with rapid speed and we all hoped that would be the end of this poorly timed disaster. Within days, I was diagnosed with Dry Socket, a very painful nerve affliction along the lower jaw as a (somewhat common) complication of an extraction.

Tending to the infection proved difficult for the dental surgeon and it raged in my mouth for weeks. I repeatedly visited the dentist to seek help, yet nothing was done.


The pain became so severe in my head that I ended up in hospital and getting morphine to help me cope with it as doctors set about plotting my recovery. Dentists visits got me no where, it was only the hospital that started to look at me with a serious eye and noticed that the infection was deep. This meant it was no longer a dental issue and now a medical one.

My labor was induced due to many complications, including of course, the dental stress I was experiencing. I had been on twice a day IV therapy for 8 days prior to giving birth and four days after wards to try and kill of the infection in my mouth. This meant driving to the hospital every morning and ever night so they could hook me up to an IV bag of medication to the catheter they had inserted in my arm and left there for convenience.

The whole thing was wearing me down emotionally and physically and still my jaw pain raged on. I gained no weight the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy. I could barely eat. Talking hurt. My jaw was swollen, black goo oozed out of my mouth. My teeth felt like they were electrified and of course, I vomited a lot from the meds, the stress and the infection.

An Infectious Disease doctor was called in to look at my jaw and she was the one who first ordered the MRI that showed Osteomyelitis. This was not good news, but hey, it appeared it was in it's early stage still and they hoped the strong dose of IV antibiotics I was on would knock it out.

Last week the ID doctor ordered the second MRI to check on my jaw and the results were not good, I have degeneration of my jaw bone even further, have Osteomyelitis even worse now and something must be done to stop it's spread into my bones even deeper. Further the MRI showed a piece of wisdom tooth still lurking in the now closed over surgical hole in my lower jaw.

On Monday something radical is being done. I am having a PICC line inserted, it will be in me for quite some time. This procedure is what is ordered when someone needs long term IV therapy and it has to be continuous. Mine is being inserted in a deep vein in my left arm at the elbow, pushed up my arm across my chest, then down to just above my heart.

After the PICC line is in, I can be given constant medication through a pump that I will be wearing for what will be a minimum of six weeks. Bone infections are dangerous, really dangerous, so clearing it up is critical. Mix this in with the fact that I am perinatal and breast feeding and I am a wee bit of a worry for my doctor.

Tuesday the IV home therapy nurse is coming to our house to teach me how to operate the apparatus and to ensure I understand all that I need to. They will also be visiting me a couple times a week to check on my progress. You see, years back someone with my condition would have been hospitalized, luckily these days, I get to remain at home.

Now I await a surgery date to have my wisdom tooth socket reopened, cleaned out and that fragment removed finally. It's been three and half months of torture, and it's now become obvious that we need to sue the dental surgeon who did such a dodgy job to begin with in handling my case.

You might as well know, I am nervous as hell. This whole thing from the PICC line to surgery is mind bogglingly scary. A two foot long catheter shoved through my vein while I am awake is not something I feel positive about, in fact, it terrifies me. Lucky for me, they are given me some sedation to make the process easier to handle.

Griffin Gillan [Constable]

Yet another injustice. Our legal system has been on a down hill slide for some time.

A story posted by CBC about Const. Griffin Gillan serves to remind the general public that many of our publicly serving police officers have criminal records and are able to use there position to their advantage when it comes to committing crimes.

It is evident that officers, Gillan the most recent, can beat and rob a man and face a mere 21 days of home lock down in the evenings for his actions. Disgusting and not a punishment worthy of the crime.

How is anyone to trust an officer that may pull you over, or interview you over something, some day, some where. I have so little faith in police officers these days. You simply can not trust them, not in BC.

In our province of great cultural diversity one must be sensitive to minorities and as Gillan beat this poor 47 year old newspaper delivery man, he screamed racial slurs, and taunted the man by saying getting anyone to call the police was pointless, because he was the police.

Gillan's excuse, 20 drinks at bars over the course of the evening in question and a black out of all the events that transpired.

You know what you should be disgusted with? Have disgust for a legal system that failed to reprimand him fairly. Have disgust for Gillan, and his not apologizing for his actions. Have disgust for Gillan's drinking habits. Have disgust for the West Vancouver Police force where he is employed, particularly if they allow him back to the force after his probation.

Read up on the *very* brief PDF on the Standards of Conduct for the West Vancouver Police.

Write a letter on your feelings surrounding the Gillan case, and let the powers that be know how you feel about this officer returning to work, OR NOT.

Lest we forget that the West Van Police Force is the same one that permitted drinking at the station by officers one of whom was a female officer and driving while impaired. This was just a short while ago, oh yes, her name ... Lisa Alford.

Alford took sick leave after the incident or more aptly called CRIME so as she could collect her salary on the tax payers dime, despite the conduct she was sworn to uphold being thrown to the way side for her own personal agenda. Drunk at a police station and then drunk driving.

WVPF needs to clean up it's officers and find a way to enforce the law to it's own people. The cops.

Same sex legal in India

Found in the Province On-Line
(thanks Lisa for sending this along)

148-year ban overturned by highest court


News Services July 3, 2009

An Indian court has overturned a 148-year-old colonial law banning homosexual relationships, saying it was an affront to human dignity.

Same-sex couples with rainbow-painted faces kissed at Delhi's Jantar Mantar monument in scenes that would have been unthinkable in conservative India before the ban was lifted. The ban was introduced by British officials and describes sexual intercourse between people of the same sex as an "unnatural offence."

Government lawyers said same-sex relationships were "indecent," against Indian values, and if decriminalized would lead to an increase in delinquent behaviour and pose a health hazard.

Their argument was rejected yesterday by Delhi's High Court judges who said the ban denied homosexuals equal rights.

Muslim clerics and the Roman Catholic church spokesmen said they still regarded homosexuality as immoral.

Ahmed Bukhari, the chief imam at Delhi's Jama Masjid mosque, said: "This is absolutely wrong. We will not accept any such law."

© Copyright (c) The Province

Identification & dismissal of every gay person

"Fruit machine" is a jocular term for a device developed in Canada that was supposed to be able to identify homosexual people, or "fruits". The subjects were made to view pornography, and the device measured the diameter of the pupils of the eyes (pupillary response test), perspiration, and pulse for a supposed erotic response.

The fruit machine was employed in Canada in the 1950s and 1960s during a campaign to eliminate all homosexuals from the civil service, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the military. A substantial number of workers did lose their jobs. Although funding for the "fruit machine" project was cut off in the late 1960s, the investigations continued, and the RCMP collected files on over 9,000 suspected homosexuals.

The chair was like one from a dentist's office. It had a pulley with a camera going towards the pupils. There was a black box in front of it that showed pictures. The pictures ranged from the mundane to sexually explicit photos of men and women. It had previously been determined that the pupils would dilate in relation to the amount of interest in the picture. This was called the pupillary response test.

Read more here

This is so fascinating to me learn about as I had no previous knowledge of this, nor have I ever heard a whisper about it from any source.

Can you imagine something like the fruit machine being used today? It just makes me sick. I am so disgusted that the RCMP were a part of such underhanded homophobic activities and on the other hand delighted the machine is no longer in use.

Asphyxiation Death

This sad but very true store has further affirmed for me, why practicing what some call "breath play" is so not worth the risks associated with it.

Over the years I have known a number of people who engaged in the practice of asphyxiation but the draw was never there for me. As a person who believes in safer sex, the notion to do this and call it sexy, safe or exciting is baffling to me. As a mother, the risk is more than I am willing to take.

Read this article and remember well, that it could happen to you too, if you play along with this deadly practice.

DA: Jumper strangled girlfriend


Tuesday, December 30, 2008 8:06 AM EST
By KEITH PHUCAS
Times Herald Staff - Norristown, and Montgomery County, PA

COURTHOUSE — A Bridgeport man who decapitated himself jumping off the Dannehower Bridge Saturday afternoon had apparently accidentally strangled his live-in girlfriend while the two were having sex, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office.

Just before 2 p.m., 43-year-old James F. Goeke drove a burgundy minivan halfway across the northbound side of the bridge that crosses the Schuylkill River, and parked the vehicle on the shoulder.

The man tied a rope to the minivan’s back seat and put the other end around his neck and jumped off the bridge, and after “falling a great distance,” the rope decapitated him. His body and head landed on Barbadoes Island, according to District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.

Upper Merion and Norristown police were the first on the scene and saw the man on the railing with a rope around his neck. “Upon arrival of police officers, (Goeke) jumped off the bridge,” the DA said.

When investigators later went to Goeke’s Belmont Village apartment on Ross Road, they immediately smelled “the odor of death” even before entering the unit, Ferman said. Minutes later, police found a woman’s badly decomposed body under a blanket in the master bedroom.

Investigators determined the dead woman was 42-year-old Michelle Kavenaugh, who lived in the apartment with Goeke. She was naked and lying on her back and had a belt from a cloth robe around her neck, according to authorities.

“It appeared the two were involved in consensual sexual relations,” the DA said. “This appears to be an accidental killing.”

Investigators believe the homicide inside the Belmont Village Apartments unit occurred within the past week.

Goeke left behind a signed suicide note on a computer table in the residence’s living room that read: “I’m sorry. It was an accident. It was too late to save her. I’m going to join her now. I’m sorry.”

“He was so devastated, he took his own life,” Ferman said. “Clearly, this is a tragedy all the way around.”

An autopsy performed Sunday concluded Kavenaugh’s death was caused by ligature strangulation.

Link 1

Link 2

Michael Kandola does a Hate Crime

Given what I have read thus far on this matter, and heard the victim speak of, it is fitting that Michael Kandola's actions be prosecuted as a "Hate Crime" on top of the charge of "Assault" that has already been filed against him.

Kandola broke a mans jaw in THREE places, with one sucker punch when he had no reason to. He was not provoked, and did not even know the victim.

Kandola hates gays, and used sexual orientation slurs to further punch home his message to the poor young fellow who was simply walking down a street holding the hand of his same-sex friend, before being dropped to the ground, broken and battered.

The full article found in the Vancouver Sun can be read here. The photo of Kandola is to show YOU the face, of this horrid man, so filled with hate that he thinks he is above the law and able to harm anyone at will.

Remember this face, tell your friends and family his name, shame him for his despicable actions.
The fact that our Crown Council wants him charged with a Hate Crime is further proof that the powers that be, are *starting* to notice the publics outrage at these types of crimes and the perpetrators actions as heinous and uncalled for. Of course it should come as no shock to anyone that Kandola was already "known to police" according to BCTV and the noon news.

And hey Kandola, many of us believe in karma....here's hoping your God gets to you, before someone else takes this matter up with you, aside from the BC Court system. What goes around, comes around.

Diagnostic and Statistic Manual: UPDATED

FROM NCSF: AN IMPORTANT PETITION!
(National Coalition for Sexual Freedom)

The American Psychiatric Association has formed working committees to revise by 2011 its Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM), the definitive resource on the Diagnostic Criteria for all mental disorders. Statements currently within the DSM Paraphilias criteria include things such as exhibitionism, voyeurism, SM, and others, that are contradicted by scientific evidence (for example, it says that there are 20 male masochists for every female masochist - and*no* female sadists, exhibitionists, etc.!). Therefore NCSF concluded that the interpretation of the Paraphilias criteria has been politically – not scientifically – based. This politically motivated interpretation subjects BDSM practitioners, fetishists and cross-dressers to bias, discrimination and social sanctions without any scientific basis. Thus, NCSF is calling on the American Psychiatric Association to remove or drastically restructure the Paraphilias section in the DSM.

A white paper on the DSM Revision is located here.

To help fight for this, there is a petition that has just been started. It says "We, the undersigned, support the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) own goal of making its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) a scientific document, based on empirical research and devoid of cultural bias. A diagnosis of a mental disorder can have a severe adverse impact on employment opportunities, child custody determinations, an individual's well-being, and other areas of functioning. Therefore we urge the APA to remove all diagnoses that are not based upon peer-reviewed, empirical research, demonstrating distress or dysfunction, from the DSM. The APA specifically should not promote current social norms or values as a basis for clinical judgments."

As you see, it isn't even specifically about being kinky - just about doing what is right. The PETITION. You can sign it and have your name kept anonymous except for verifying that there are no duplicates, and your contact information will not be released irregardless. After all, being kinky isn't crazy!

Age of Consent in BC

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

Thank You to my good friends over at the "RCMP" and Options for Sexual Health, for keeping me up to date on sex facts.

Sober with out doubt

It was late, at say 1:00 a.m. as we made our way from the bar we'd been at for most of the evening. Maui weather was hot, and still so humid, though a small breeze was in the air.

I was the driver in our rental car, as I don't drink. In fact I've not had any alcohol for many many years. My passenger and travel companion A. had drank a few, and happily I was the designated driver.

As I pulled out from the parking lot to return us back to our condo there was a red light. I stopped and waited it for it turn green. The speed limit was 20 miles an hour, and I had been motoring along at that legal (slow) pace.

In the rear view mirror I see a police car come up right behind us, and within 45 seconds the cars lights were flashing and we were being pulled over. We were no more than 1.5 blocks from the bar we'd been at.

First they asked for the cars rental papers. Sure, no problem, we handed them over. We were both listed as drivers on the permits so all was good.

Then they asked how much I had had to drink. My response was truthful, "I've had nothing to drink officer".

He then told me to be honest with him, and not to lie. Then he asked me again, how much I'd had to drink. Again I replied, NOTHING, I don't drink ever.

Now a second cop car pulls up and directs its spot lights onto our car. And the officer approaches the car and stands next to the officer questioning me.

Another minute later, a THIRD police car pulls up, and this officer gets out from his vehicle and he goes round the passenger side of the vehicle. He asks A, how much I'd been drinking. Her response, "Jennifer doesn't drink ever, you can even go back to the bar we were just in and ask the bartender and waitress, she's only drank Seven Up all night long."

Now the officers standing next to my drivers door, tell me something I did not know. I had pulled out of the bar parking lot without my head lights turned on.

It turns out that our fancy ass car with all the bells and whistles, does not have automatic evening driving lights and I'd not turned them on manually.

I apologize profusely and announce that I really had no idea that they were not on, especially given that my dash board lights were all on.

They tell me to get out of the car and stand on the sidewalk. Goodness this is seeming ridiculous given than I am not drunk, I don't drink and we'll its just absurd. But I do as I'm told, because making a scene far from home in another country is so not going to happen.

Standing on the curb, they administer a sobriety test. Lights shined in my eyes while being asked to follow a pen visually. I FAILED.

One of the two officers doing my sobriety tests announces I've failed. I chuckle because this just can't be, and I tell them so to.

They do a second sobriety test, the exact one again, just done in reverse and standing on the side of the curb in my 4 inch heels. Then I hear, you've FAILED AGAIN.

This just can't be, and I have no idea why they are thinking I am drunk either.

The officers start asking me questions because if I'm not drunk, then surely something must be the matter with me.

Ma'am, have you had a recent head injury?

NO!

Ma'am, are you under a doctors care currently?

NO!

Ma'am, are you on prescription drugs?

NO!

Ma'am, do you were contacts or glasses?

NO!

Ma'am, do you have any current medical issues?

NO!

Then I think of the only thing I can think of to say. With a large nervous smile, I announce...

"I have my period right now, I'm bleeding, does this count"?

With out missing a beat, they ask me to submit to one further sobriety test and I FAIL it again.

It seems that in the dark my pupils can not properly follow a light to their satisfaction.

One officer asks the other if he can find anything concrete. (no booze in the vehicle, consistent story, co operative and certainly not drunk) They can find nothing.

I'm told to get back in the vehicle. With my knees shaking just-a-little, I slide back in the drivers seat.

The police officer asks me if I want them to make sure that I can properly turn on the cars head lights.

My reply " Hell yes, please ensure they are on before you let me go, because I don't want to not have them turned on and risk being subjected to this type of treatment again".

It then takes me a full minute to locate the lights. I get them turned on, they give me the thumbs up and away we go.

One of the three police cars followed us for about eight blocks before veering off to do some real police work.

Just another night in paradise.

A Salute to Reproductive Choice

Henry Morgentaler

Congratulations on receiving The Order of Canada for your service and vision. Canada's highest civilian honour. It recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation.

More on Order of Canada.



You are an incredible man, who deserves all the positive attention and acclaim that comes your way. Finally we are honoring you.

Morgentaler pioneered for a womans right to a safe and legal abortion. YES.

Morgentaler pioneered when he knew others couldn't do it for themselves. YES.

Morgentaler is a real life hero.

CBC news writes about Morgentalers being named to the Order of Canada

The Vancouver Sun on the bold and right appointment of Morgentaler for the Order of Canada, finally!

The Morgentaler Clinics are located throughout Canada.


Wikipedia lists Morgentaler extensively.

Taser Use in Vancouver

So this entire story can be found in THE GLOBE AND MAIL.

This is not a little hick town paper, this is our Country's National News Paper folks!

Read it from beginning to end. Here ya go people, read all about it.

The Legacy of Tasers: from killing a Polish immigrant at YVR airport to terrifying the general public that rides BC Transit. It could be the quiet kid sitting next to you on Sky Train next that gets jolted by that weapon, and rest assured if the person next to you dies, you will NEVER be the same.

Do something now.

The article will leave you as angry as it does me, read it. You don't even have to be Polish to be riled and repulsed by law enforcements latest shinanigans.

Can you believe that our Transit Police, here in BC are using Tasers often to enforce Fare Payment at Sky Train Stations?


If you ever see police use a Taser on ANYONE, video tape on your phone the whole incident from beginning to end. Don't tell anyone at the time, or the police will seize the evidence and the general public will NEVER see it until it's too late.

Capture it on camera, then get away fast and hand the footage over to a news agency fast AND to the B.C. Civil Liberties Association. No joke people.

Don't give it to the police as evidence, you won't get it back you dumby. Let the police get it from the news and everywhere else, but DO NOT KEEP QUIET ANY LONGER about this brutality going on here in BC towards our residence.

Can you imagine that our local Transit Police have randomly in 18 months used a Taser ten times on individuals all in cases that simply involved fare evading. Where is the threat of immediate harm? NONE. This is an outrage. Catch them using this form of excessive force then hand it over to as many media entities as possible, fast so we can correct this abuse of power as soon as possible and put Vancouverites to rest about whether or not they can lay their trust in there police force again.

This issue is large. The RCMP killed a man at the air port with a Taser and the public has let them get away with it. Its appalling. No accountability on their behalf. Now our own Transit Police it turns out are using the same weapon, and at times when there is no threat to them, no reason to do so.

Excessive Force is all it is. Brutality. Macho Superior Behavior.

Get the Tasers out of the hands of Transit Police & RCMP. Put a moratorium on their use until an independent study can objectively inform both the public and those who enforce the laws what the dangers are in Taser use and also assure us, as to the specific circumstances surrounding when a Taser could be used.

The issue of Taser use keeps getting larger, because agencies do not disclose when Tasers end up being used. Then the public finds out after the fact and is mortified by the frequency of use and absurdity of the reasons as to why. This high level of secrecy must end, the public is due honest disclosures, AS THEY HAPPEN. Not weeks or months down the road.

Pass the URL link to the Globe and Mail article on to everyone you work with.

Send it to everyone in your address book. Talk about it. Write about a lot. Make it a Google-able topic for anyone in the world to read about the victimization of our people here at home at the hands of those we pay to protect us. Put "Taser Use in Vancouver" in your subject lines. Tell every police officer you know or ever run into how you feel about Tasers and their irresponsible use.

Write the Globe and Mail.

Write the RCMP.

Write the B.C. Civil Liberties Association

Write the BC Human Right Commission.

Write the federal Liberal public safety critic Ujjal Dosanjh.

Write your local paper Editors.

Stop by your local police station and file a complaint. Vancouver Police department or any Municipal Police force, plus RCMP offices.

Don't be silent any longer. They, the ones abusing power, are counting on your ignorance of the facts due to their master plan of secrecy to allow them to continue this destructive path on your rights and life.

End Taser Use now.

And to further Outrage You, here is what the Transit Authority has to say on this topic...in todays Vancouver Sun.

Transit police back Taser use

Device will 'absolutely' continue to be used against non-compliant passengers

METRO VANCOUVER - Officers policing Metro Vancouver's transit services will continue Tasering "non-compliant" passengers, despite outrage over reports the weapon has been used against non-violent fare-evaders.

"Absolutely. Absolutely. Yup," Insp. Daniel Dureau of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority Police said, during a brief telephone interview Thursday after he was asked if his officers would still use the Taser on non-violent passengers."

Makes me want to barf all over Insp. . Daniel Dureau. You too right?

Maple Ridge vs. Meyer

Maple Ridge vs. Meyer

A link to the infamous court case that had it become legal for all women, to be top-free at any of the same places a man may be, in PUBLIC. (sidewalks, your yard, public beaches & community swimming pools)

Should you be harassed by the police or some city employee while being top-free cite Maple Ridge vs. Meyer June 08 2000, while they check in with their supervisors as to your legal right to be so.


It has been almost eight now years now, since it became legal.


With the warmer weather soon to be upon us, its my intention as usual, to spend many beach days, top-free.