City Streets
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/05/vote-for-me-as-if-voti...
TheVancouverManifesto is on VoterMedia.org: Media for voters, funded by voters. This is a pretty recent invention aimed at democratizing media in a few ways (put the emphasis on the right syllAbles and you'll get it). By viewing a wider range of media (i.e. instead of reading the same newspapers that are all owned by CanWest, or the shit from the "free daily" that depressed middle-aged women hand off to you at the skytrain and UBC) the voter can make a more informed decision thereby electing better leaders and better public policy.
By samanthaorwell on April 29, 2008 - 8:06pm
READ FULL HERE: http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/04/collaboration-for-chan...
Remember Project Civil City- the best homeless hating document created? It's been a long time since it has poked it's ugly little head out. Sam Sullivan is bringing it back. with a vengeance. and if you ask me, it's just to take your eye off of the failure that is EcoDensity (*ahem* Brent Toderian saying that a completely new draft is needed and ALL the actions require change).
By samanthaorwell on April 10, 2008 - 1:50pm
READ FULL POST: http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/04/good-art-stirs-emotion...
In 2007 Guillermo Vargas (aka Habacuc) illegedly starved a dog to death in the name of art. He found a sickly dog on the streets of Managua, Nicaragua and tied it to a short leash in the corner of a gallery. Across the room was a kettle of food, left inaccessible. The dog slowly died of hunger and thirst. Vargas is going to represent Costa Rica in the Bienal Cenroamericana Honduras 2008. There is currently a petition.
You can watch the starving dog, anti-Vargas, video in Spanish (notice the title of the work is “eres lo que lees” which means “you are what you read” is spelled out in dog food). One picture in the video also shows a full gallery of people who pay no attention to the starving dog (I don’t know if that was a staged photo).
By samanthaorwell on April 10, 2008 - 1:48pm
READ FULL POST: http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/04/living-first-with-furn...
Vancouver has transformed itself dramatically ever since the 1991 Central Area Plan that aimed at revitalizing Vancouver’s downtown core. During the unexpected 80s recession, Vancouver planners decided that it was going to be people that reinvigorated Vancouver streets to revive business. In 2008 it is obvious the “Living First” strategy has worked. Starting with Concord Pacific development, luxury condominiums now spread like wildfire along Vancouver’s downtown streets. The sounds of construction are unavoidable as you walk down newly landscaped streets that are waiting for the designer billboards into reality.
But just because you build it does it mean they will come? In short, yes. Vancouver is too spectacularly beautiful to not have people vying for her land. The single most obvious indicator that these luxurious shells of condomoniums are also luxurious on the inside is the sudden proliferation of furniture stores like Yaletown Sofa. I’ve been seeing these types of stores spring up everywhere downtown. Half a dozen of these luxury furnishing stores sit in or surround the downtown.
By samanthaorwell on April 7, 2008 - 12:30am
READ FULL HERE:
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/04/promising-organization...
Students for a Democratic Society, UBC Chapter, (SDS) is “open collective of students inspired by the movement from the U.S. of the 60s/70s, Students For a Democratic Society.”
Their campaigns include freeing public space, Aboriginal rights, housing affordability and the democratization of UBC governance. Most recently, they staged opposition in front of the Main Street Vancouver Police Department against holding the 20 people who were arrested at the Grassy Knoll protest (Trek Park; “KnollAid”). They also organize (although I didn’t realize it until looking at their site just now) an awesome series of political films called “Cinema Politica” (a free film series that goes on in a lot of cities at major universities). TheVancouverManifesto is a personal fan of the Cinema Politica series.
By samanthaorwell on April 6, 2008 - 1:00am
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/04/ubc-grassy-knoll-prote...
On April 4th a protest was held at the grassy knoll at UBC. The grassy knoll is undergoing redevelopment; the plan for Trek Park (affectionately called the grassy knoll) is a new transit loop that would effectively level and remove the grassy hill UBC students love to sit upon on the rare sunny day.
The protest started with live bands and good times. A bon fire was then lit in the centre concrete area and the brigade was called to hose it down. Protesters were quite fond of the festive fire and attempted to step on the hose to stop the extinguishing of potentially a symbol of the firey spirit that is Grassy Knoll protest.
One woman, who was stepping on the hose, who news is calling “Stef” was arrested:
"(the woman) was grabbed by an RCMP officer and thrown to the ground, pinned, and handcuffed. Her face was literally shoved in a puddle of mud while an RCMP officer sat on top of her," the release said, describing it as an "uncalled act of police aggression."
A small army of 25 students that grew to a whopping 35 created a human chain around the police car that detained the rabble-rouser “Stef”. 19 more students were arrested.
There is a pretty thorough play-by-play at the UBC Insider with links to videos and all that jazz.
By samanthaorwell on April 6, 2008 - 12:12am
can we take a moment for Trevor Linden?
Wonderful man.
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/
By samanthaorwell on April 1, 2008 - 1:03am
http://thevancouvermanifesto.blogspot.com/2008/04/tibet-media-coverage-b...
Glenn Bohn of The Vancouver Sun wrote “Tibet coverage ‘twisted, biased’” yesterday.
Basically, it says that Western media has been biased and given twisted coverage of Tibet protest. It mentions that most media images come from Westerners and/or tourists taking sensational videos, photos, or cell phone pics in the heat of protest. Western media heavily relies on these images to stir their columns and news stories.
On the other hand, “viewers of Chinese-language TV news broadcasts see the more of the "dark side and violence of the riots," including assaults against ethnic Chinese in Tibet. The Chinese news media also interviewed injured ethnic Chinese in hospitals.”
Our well-known SingTao Daily, privately owned Chinese newspaper run out of Vancouver, says that Western media are critical of ALL non-western governments, not only Communist China, and shouldn’t really take undue offense, saying that it doesn’t mean that Western countries, or specifically Canada, is breaking “friendly relations” with China.
I’m glad they brought this up. I am a huge fan of articles that show some reflexivity in discourse.
