New Media

I know I’m posting this a little late, but perhaps not getting things done right or on time is sort of in keeping with the tradition: to all my weed-loving friends in Vancouver and elsewhere in our great hydroponic-friendly land, happy 420.

And to all the organized criminals using proceeds from BC’s big cash crop to fund gun-running, human-trafficking and sex-slavery operations, you all suck. Oh, wait, all my weed-smoking buddies are helping you guys pay your bills… Not good.

The ethics of this situation may seem a little confusing when you’re in a pot-induced haze. But when you’re not…

They certainly do politics a little differently in Zimbabwe. Twenty-eight years after he first came to power, President(?) Robert Mugabe is clinging to power with his bloody fingernails. He has accused the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai of treason and plotting with Britain to “overthrow” the government (Associated Press).

To which most Zimbabweans must be thinking, “great!” Overthrowing a regime that has brought about 80 per cent unemployment, hunger and deprivation seems like a pretty laudable goal to get behind. Tsvangirai likely did win the election (overwhelmingly, assuming Zimbabweans are like the rest of the human species in preferring the benefits of a better economy and political freedom). But even in the extremely unlikely event that Zimbabweans voted for another term of hunger and repression, if there was a time for a Boris Yeltsin-on-a-tank moment for Tsvangirai, this is it.

But it still may be far from over. A commentary in Vancouver’s paper the Georgia Straight predicting the end of the Mugabe regime from nearly a year ago repeated all the reasons why this societal wrecking machine has to go — and the situation is far worse now than it was then.

Is Vancouver such a young city that we have to invent a colorful heritage out of thin air? Vancouverific blogger JZ at Beyond Robson has posed an interesting take on the gritty, lantern-lit Chinatown street known as Blood Alley (BR): according to his findings, the distinct-looking street with the intimidating name (conjuring up images of a young, crimson-spatterd, mourning Bruce Wayne — yes, I know it was Crime Alley, fellow comic book geeks) seems to have no real connection with anything all that grisly, much less super-hero spawning.

Chinatown and Gastown do actually have pretty rich histories, for those who take the time to do a Wikipedia search.  Why embellish when the real thing is awfully interesting– and on occasion, actually bloody, to begin with?

“The Canadian Military Should Leave Afghanistan at Once“. That’s the topic of the debate going on at the Vancouver Public Library next week. Representing the side of good will be Canadian Women4Women in Afghanistan co-founder Lauryn Oates, versus a spokesperson for the morally-bankrupt propaganda ministry that is Stopwar.ca.

DETAILS
LOCATION: Alice Mackay Room, Lower Level,
Vancouver Public Library, Downtown (Homer & Robson)
Doors open at 7:15 pm. Seating limited to the first 300.
Langara Dialogues
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
7:30 – 9:00 pm

On the one hand, I suppose it’s a good thing that the public gets another chance to think about our involvement in Afghanistan in a public space. On the other hand, I can’t believe we’re still here, talking about nonsense resolutions that have no bearing on what’s happening now, as opposed to five years ago.

In poll after poll, Afghans tell us they want international forces in Afghanistan (even in the Pashtun areas where the Taliban got their start). The UN has repeatedly voted to support this mission and UN Secretary Ban Ki Moon is an enthusiastic supporter of our Canadian efforts. Our parliament has voted to extend this mission to 2011. Most importantly, everyone — even the Stopwar.ca people — know that if NATO leaves Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of people will die.

Canada may not be the most powerful country in the world, but we have the eighth-richest economy, a well-trained professional army and a heritage of fighting the good fight for freedom and human rights. We’ve shown leadership on this. Hell, we are leaders on this — the US marines are taking orders from us in southern Afghanistan.

The mission is a good one. Rather than beating a dead horse about whether we should stay or go, now is the time to decide how best we can help Afghanistan now that we are involved for the long run.

If you agree, please consider joining a group that believes that human rights are universal and worth fighting for.

Currents has entered the world of viral video with an in-depth interview in Vancouver with local writer Kevin Spenst.

As reported earlier on Currents, 1000 Stories is a short film about Kevin’s marathon 50 readings in a day from his book of short stories, Fast Fictions. The film won for best picture in the Paul and Ben 2008 Film Festival. Kevin talks about the process of writing a short story every day for three years, making the film and getting accolades for his storytelling prowess on the SkyTrain.

More videos to follow, hopefully with actual on-camera people — just as soon as I can find a brave soul willing to look into the terrifying depths of my Macbook’s built-in camera. In the meantime, viewers will just have to be content with video stills of yours truly in comic book rendering.